Australian group files review plea over GVK's coal mine project

Local farmers back plea, say 60,000-hectare mine will irreversibly destroy the groundwater on which their livelihoods depend

An Australian conservation group today filed a judicial review application in Queensland Supreme Court challenging billionaire Gina Rinehart and Indian miner GVK over Alpha Coal Mine project jointly owned by them.

Coast & Country (C&C) said that it has challenged the 2014 Land Court of Queensland decision on the huge Alpha Coal Project in Galilee Basin, located in north east of Australia.

The Alpha Coal project is said to be among Australia's largest mines with a lease area of 60,000 hectares.

The review application filed in Brisbane has been also supported by local farmers.

In a statement, C&C said it would argue that the Land Court should have recommended that the 30 million tonnes per year mine be rejected outright.

It said the local farmers have objected to Alpha because the mega-mine will irreversibly destroy the groundwater on which their livelihoods depend, consuming 176 billion litres over its lifetime and dropping the water table by five metres.

"On the April 8, 2014, the Land Court stated that given the unsatisfactory nature of the mine proponent's evidence on groundwater impacts, it is not in the public interest to approve the Alpha Coal Project. It recommended to the Queensland Government that the mine either be rejected outright, or approved only with rigorous water conditions that observe the precautionary principle," the C&C statement noted.

C&C said it would also argue that the law does not allow the Land Court to recommend both refusal and approval with conditions, and that Land Court therefore should have recommended that the mine should be refused.

Climate impacts are also an issue in the court's review.

"We are continuing to challenge this massive mine because of its severe impacts on groundwater and the climate," Derec Davies of C&C said.

Responding to the latest court proceedings, GVK Hancock Coal issued a statement saying "anti-mining protest groups were again taking the Alpha Coal Project through another court process, delaying thousands of jobs for Queensland."

"What we are witnessing is court decisions being taken to court for additional court decisions. This challenge does not involve any landholders and our projects will not impact the Great Artesian Basin," according to the GVK Hancock General Manager Josh Euler.

He said that the Galilee Basin projects will create around 7,000 jobs during construction and around 4,000 direct operational jobs for the 30+ years of operations.

"Through flow-on economic benefits these projects represent the creation of over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs and over 44 billion dollars in taxes and royalties to State and Federal governments," he said.

Delaying or seeking to stop the development of the Galilee Basin will not change global demand for thermal coal, it will only push developments and benefits offshore to other countries, he added.