GVK wins court fight over Australian coal mine

Ruling eliminates one hurdle for the $10 billion Alpha mine, rail and port project

The Friday ruling eliminated one hurdle for the $10-billion Alpha mine, rail and port project, which has been put on ice until it obtains a mining permit and overcomes a lack of funding due to a slump in coal prices

Environmental groups lost a fight to stop billionaire Gina Rinehart and India’s GVK from building a giant coal mine in Australia, as an apex state court on Friday dismissed an appeal against the state of Queensland’s ecological approval for the project.

Conservation group Coast and Country, originally working for three farmers, had sought to have the environmental approval for GVK-Hancock’s 30 million tonnes a year Alpha mine overturned, based on the impact it would have on water supply and climate change.

The state Land Court last year ruled the mine be approved with strict water management conditions or rejected. The environmental group appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, saying the Land Court did not have the right to issue two alternative recommendations and should have rejected the mine outright. The Queensland Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on Friday.

GVK Hancock, a joint venture of GVK Group and Australia’s exploration and mining company Hancock Prospecting, said it welcomes the Supreme Court judgement rejecting the appeals against environmental approvals for the Alpha Coal Project.

“We are pleased the court has clearly ruled that our project has continued to follow and comply with all regulatory and legal processes,” it said.

The Friday ruling eliminated one hurdle for the $10-billion Alpha mine, rail and port project, which has effectively been put on ice until it obtains a mining permit and overcomes a lack of funding due to a slump in coal prices.

“We are pleased the court has clearly ruled that our project has continued to follow and comply with all regulatory and legal processes,” GVK spokesman Josh Euler said.

The state government, which wants new mines to be developed in the untapped Galilee Basin to promote jobs, has yet to issue a mining permit for the Alpha project, but has said it would be subject to existing water management rules.

The decision was a blow, said Bruce Currie, one of the farmers represented in the case.

“Justice has not been done. If this mine goes ahead, it risks draining away the groundwater that our lives and businesses depend on,” Currie told reporters outside the court.

The Queensland Resources Council on Friday launched a campaign urging communities to sign a petition calling on the state to protect mining jobs against environmental groups looking to delay new projects.

In 2011, GVK acquired majority stake in the Alpha Coal and Alpha West Coal projects and a 100 per cent

stake in the Kevin’s Corner Project in Queensland from Hancock Coal for about $1.26 billion. The Alpha project is 50-50 owned by Rinehart’s Hancock Coal and GVK, with a small portion of GVK’s stake owned by GVK Power & Infrastructure.