New Acland Coal Mine

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New Acland Mine is an open-cut coal mine owned by New Hope Coal in Queensland, Australia.

Mining at the New Acland site stopped on November 26, 2021, when coal reserves were exhausted.[1] As New Hope reports in their 2022 annual review, the main New Acland site has transitioned into care and maintenance and plans to reopen once final approvals are granted for the mine's extension project—the New Acland Coal Mine Stage 3 Project.[2]

As of May 2023, a water license for New Acland's Stage 3 expansion has been approved, and clearing and topsoil removal has commenced.[3][4]

Location

The satellite image below shows the location of the mine, 16 km north-west of Oakey, in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia.

Loading map...

Background

New Hope Group commenced operating the New Acland mine, located north-northwest of the Oakey Township in southeast Queensland’s Darling Downs region, in 2002. Stage 2 of the mine was implemented in 2008.[5]

In its 2009 Annual Report, New Hope Corporation states that it produced 4.263 million tonnes of coal from the mine during the year. "New Acland has completed the initial development of a second open cut pit south of the current operations to maximise coal qualities and operating flexibility. First coal from this southern pit was processed in mid-September 2008," the report states.[6]

New Hope states that coal from the mine is intended for exports and domestic use at power stations in South East Queensland.[7]

New Acland previously supplied coal to the Tarong power station and to both domestic and international markets.[8] It is unclear if the mine will again feed the coal plant once operations reopen. (Currently, the Tarong coal plant receives coal from the nearby Meandu mine.)[9]

Stage 3 Expansion Project

Originally, the New Acland Stage 3 project was meant to increase production up to 10.0 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), cover an area of 5,069 hectares, and extend the mine life by about 30 years.[10] However, due to the level of controversy surrounding the expansion, its plans have been trimmed over the years and now aim to expand New Acland's production capacity to 7.5 mtpa and extend its production life by 12 years.

With coal having been depleted since November 2021, the future of the mine ultimately relies on approval of the New Acland Stage 3 Project.[11]

Approval Delays

The Stage 3 expansion of the mine has been mired in controversy, largely due to the effect it would have on neighbouring farmers. A detailed description of the legal process is found on the Environmental Law Australia website.[12]

The application was refused in 2017 because of the operation's potential impact on groundwater. [13] "The decision means that the case is now expected to be re-heard in its entirety, although today’s [10 September 2019] decision means the Land Court will not be able to consider the mine’s impact on the precious groundwater that supplies the prime agricultural land of the region as part of evaluating the positive and negative impacts of the proposal."[14]

After several court cases, in September 2019, the Queensland Court of Appeal ruled the Land Court did not have the power to consider groundwater impacts from mining. This was the argument that Oakley Coal Action Alliance used to stop the mine from expanding prior to this date. As of September 2019, the Queensland government is still to rule on its pending water licence for the project.[15]

Oakey Coal Action Alliance secretary Paul King said the project should never have been allowed to proceed due to the harm it would inflict on local farmers, the environment, and the Oakey economy.[15]

"This is a very difficult outcome for local farmers who have lived with this threat for ten long years and now face more uncertainty due to this technicality, while they struggle with a worsening drought and reduced groundwater supply," he said.[15]

"The farming land around Oakey is classed in the top 1.5% in Queensland. It is madness that it should be destroyed for the sake of a temporary coal mine.[15]

The uncertainty surrounding the mine expansion threatens the existing workers on the site. Redundancy procedures were triggered on 2 September 2019, as the expansion had not been approved.[15]

Following his election to parliament and appointment as Premier in early 2012, Campbell Newman announced that the government would not allow the New Hope Corporation to expand the New Acland mine, from 5 million tonnes a year to 10 million tonnes a year of thermal coal.[7] The expansion of the mine, Newman stated, was "inappropriate". A spokeswoman for the Liberal National Party (LNP) told The Australian that "the LNP don't support open-cut coalmining on strategic cropping land anywhere in the state ... The LNP will not support the proposal for Acland stage three (because) it covers some areas of strategic cropping land, and would come too close to local communities."[16]

Despite the rebuff, a spokesman for New Hope said that "we will continue to work with the new LNP government" but would not say whether they aimed to gain approval for an amended proposal.[16] In its April 2012 quarterly activities report for the quarter, New Hope stated only that "submission of the supplementary EIS has been delayed from the planned submission date of mid April 2012 due to ongoing discussions being held with the new Co-ordinator General."[17]

New Hope Coal has pushed for stage 3 expansion since early 2012 and finally received federal approval for the expansion on December 1, 2020.[18]

Controversy

The company was accused of illegal mining in 2018 and noncompliance with its license. The investigation was still ongoing in June 2020.[19]

Financing

According to research from Australian environmental group Market Forces, in December 2018 the Australian commercial banks ANZ and NAB were among lenders that provided AUS$600 million to New Hope Coal for purposes including the proposed New Acland Stage 3 coal mine. The deal was shrouded in secrecy, as New Hope’s CEO declined to publicly identify the lenders. Market Forces point out that NAB's involvement in the funding for New Acland Stage 3 contradicts its commitment to no longer finance new thermal coal mines or extensions.[20]

Mine Details

  • Operator: New Acland Coal Pty Ltd[21]
  • Owner: New Hope Group
  • Location: 14km north west of Oakey in the Darling Downs region of Queensland[22]
  • GPS Coordinates: -27.278281, 151.710176 (exact, within the mining complex)
  • Status: Care and maintenance[2]
  • Production: 0.47 million tonnes per annum (2022)[2]
  • Total Resource: 494 million tonnes (2022)[2]
  • Mineable Reserves: 366 million tonnes (2022)[2]
  • Coal Type: Thermal
  • Mine Size:
  • Mine Type: Surface
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Source of Financing: ANZ, NAB and other lenders have supported the Stage 3 expansion

Articles and resources

References

  1. David Chen, "New Acland coal mine set to restart after Queensland government grants water licence", ABC News Australia, 20 October 2022.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Notice Of Annual General Meeting, Proxy Form & Annual Report, New Hope Group website, accessed March 2023.
  3. Georgie Hewson, "Environmental groups plan fresh legal action against mine as New Acland ramps up recruitment drive", ABC News Australia, 20 January 2023.
  4. Quarterly Activities Report April 2023, New Hope Group website, 22 May 2023.
  5. "Background and Current Operations", New Acland Mine website, Archived from the original on 22 August 2011, accessed May 2023.
  6. New Hope Corporation, 2009 Annual Report, New Hope Corporation, page 6.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Acland", New Hope Corporation website, Archived from the original on 28 May 2013, accessed March 2023.
  8. New Acland Coal Mine Stage 3 Expansion Project - Initial Advice Statement, Queensland Government website, April 2007.
  9. "Our Power Stations", Stanwell Corp website, accessed May 2023.
  10. "New Acland Project", New Acland Mine website, Archived from the original on 22 August 2011, accessed May 2023.
  11. New Hope Corporation, "EY New Acland Coal Mine Stage 3 Project: Financial Impact Study", 27 September 2017, page 1.
  12. Environmental Law Australia, "New Acland Coal Mine Case", accessed 13 September 2019.
  13. WA Today, "Approve Darling Downs mine to save jobs: Canavan", 11 September 2019.
  14. Environmental Defenders Office, "AMedia Release: Acland decision shows need for legislative change to protect groundwater", 10 September 2019.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Mining Monthly, "New Acland expansion gets boost from appeal decision", 12 September 2019.
  16. 16.0 16.1 Natasha Bita, "Campbell Newman slams farm gate shut on miners", The Australian, March 29, 2012.
  17. New Hope Corporation, "Quarterly Activities Report: 30 April 2012", May 2012, page 4.
  18. A New Hope for New Acland, Australian Mining, December 1, 2020
  19. Elly Bradfield, New Acland Coal operation under investigation after allegations of illegal mining, ABC Southern QLD, June 17, 2020
  20. "Funding Climate Failure: How How Australia’s big banks are undermining the Paris Agreement", Market Forces, accessed September 2020
  21. "New Acland", New Hope Group website, accessed March 2023.
  22. "New Acland Coal Mine Expansion, Australia", Mining Frontier website, accessed 12 September 2019.

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