The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission (IPC) has given the green light to Whitehaven Coal Limited for the development of its Vickery Extension Project in the State’s north west region.
This primary approval is the result of an extensive technical evaluation process as well as a comprehensive community consultation program and outreach – which included a multi-stage public hearing administered by the IPC around February 2019 and July 2020.
In a statement, the IPC said: “The Commission finds that on balance, and when weighed against the objects of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act), ecologically sustainable development (ESD) principles, relevant policy framework, and socio-economic benefits, the impacts associated with the Project are acceptable and the Project is in the public interest.”
Whitehaven Coal Managing Director and CEO Paul Flynn has welcomed the news and stated that the Vickery project will help secure the company’s “growing stature as a key supplier to premium overseas market”.
The company will now focus on securing necessary secondary approvals and other project optimisation prior to the beginning of works under the new approval.
“Vickery will be a predominantly metallurgical coal mine and will service established and emerging markets for high quality coal in our near region. Vickery will entail capital expenditure of $700 million is expected to generate employment for 500 people during the construction phase and 450 ongoing operational roles,” Whitehaven Coal said in a statement.
About 75 per cent of the workforce for Vickery will be sourced locally.
The Vickery Extension Project will comprise of an open-cut coal mine and associated on site infrastructure located approximately 25 kilometres north of Gunnedah.
With the extension, Vickery will be able to extract about 13Mtpa of coal over a 25-year mine life and transport 11.5Mtpa of coal from the mine site via rail for each financial year.
The Vickery operations will primarily produce metallurgical coal for steelmaking, with a balance of high-quality thermal coal for premium export markets in the region.
“Whitehaven continues to be cautious in allocating capital to expansion noting the evolving impacts of COVID-19 on coal markets and pricing. While there are still considerable risks and uncertainties for the global economic outlook given the continued spread of the virus, the fundamentals of our business model continue to remain robust.
“Throughout the pandemic, our portfolio of coal products have remained sough after and well sold under long term contracts to the cornerstone high-energy, low-impurity coal markets of Japan, Korea and Taiwan, as well as burgeoning markets in developing southeast Asian nations,” the company said in a statement.
Source: Whitehaven Coal Limited (1, 2); Australian Mining; The Sydney Morning Herald; Mining Technology; NSW Independent Planning Commission; ABC News