PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The New South Wales Planning and Assessment Commission (PAC) has approved diversified miner Glencore’s plans to expand its Mount Owen coal mine.
Under the Mt Owen Continued Operations (MOCO) project, Glencore will expand existing mining operations at the two openpit operations at Mt Owen to extend the life of the mine and enable the extraction of an additional 86-million tonnes run-of-mine coal.
The MOCO project will extend the opencut mine life by 12 years, to 2030, and will duplicate the existing rail spur line and construct a northern rail entry.
The project had initially been flagged to produce an additional 92-million tonnes of coal, but Glencore amended the proposal following public hearings and a review report from the PAC.
The amended plan also provides for an additional 144 ha biodiversity offset area comprising extant woodland, forest communities and key foraging resources for threatened fauna. It also included revised rehabilitation plans incorporating additional rehabilitated woodland corridors and measures to improve corridor resilience and habitat connectivity in the final landform.
The PAC this week approved the revised MOCO project, saying Glencore has demonstrated its commitment to implementing an effective and achievable management programme to address the impacts to biodiversity.