Alpha West Coal Project

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Alpha West Coal Project is a cancelled coal mine in Alpha, Queensland, Australia.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Alpha West Coal Project	Alpha, Queensland, Australia	-23.115171, 146.332751 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the coal mine:

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Project Type	Opening Year	Closing Year
Cancelled	Announced	New	–	–

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
24	–	–	Underground	–	–	50*	*

Table 4: Coal resources and destination

Total Reserves (Mt)	Year of Total Reserves Recorded	Total Resources (Mt)	Coalfield	Coal Type	Coal Grade	Primary Consumer/ Destination
–	–	1800	Galilee	Subbituminous	Thermal	Abbot Point Coal Terminal

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Hancock Alpha West Pty Ltd	GVK Coal Developers [79%]; Hancock Prospecting[21%]	India

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the GEM April 2024 Global Coal Mine Tracker dataset.

Coal Mine Background

GVK Hancock is a joint venture that includes Hancock Prospecting, one of Australia's largest resource companies GVK, one of the largest business groups in India. The joint venture plans to develop the vast coal reserves of the Galilee Basin to provide energy in the Indian sub­continent as a mainstay to help underpin India's growing economic future.

A concept study has been completed for this site. If it goes ahead it could be the third coal project by GVKHancock Coal in the basin.

In August 2019 Alpha West is referred to by Renew Economy Australia as "GVK’s equally [along with GVK's other two coal proposals] stranded 24Mtpa Alpha West coal proposal." Due to the lack of a secure Indian market for the coal following India's move to become more independent in coal supply.

At present, there is no mining in the Galilee Basin. The opening of Adani's Carmichael Coal Project would change this and could mean that a number of the other proposals in the area are also advanced, including the Alpha West project. The Queensland Resources Council has said the projects other than the Carmichael mine would have a "much easier run" if the rail line was already established and the environmental approvals had been cleared for Carmichael.

Financing

The delay to GVK's projects in the Galilee basin has put the parent group into financial difficulty. In May 2017, GVK told stock exchanges that GVK Coal, a subsidiary, failed to achieve financial closure resulting in delay in mine development activity and in entering definitive agreements for port and rail development and agreement for the sale of coal.

In 2019 GVK is still struggling financially. Mr Buckley from Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said GVK Singapore, the dominant partner in the Kevin's Corner, Alpha and Alpha West projects, was effectively "bankrupt" with more than $US1 billion debt and no revenue or equity.

But billionaire Gina Rinehart, who is owed $US750 million by GVK, could bankroll Galilee Coal if she saw money in it.

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Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.