Name of the Project
Alpha coal project.

Location
Queensland, Australia.

Client
GVK Hancock, a joint venture between Indian conglomerate GVK (79%) and Hancock Prospecting (21%).

Project Description
The proposed Alpha project, in Queensland, has a Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource of 1.8-billion tonnes with an estimated 1.2-billion tonnes of reserves. The opencut operation is expected to produce about 32-million tonnes a year over a 30-year mine life.

The project involves the construction of an opencut coal mine and a 495 km railway line from the mine to the Port of Abbot Point, near Bowen.

The mine plan comprises six separate opencut pits, with a total strike length of 24 km in a north–south direction.

Ancillary infrastructure at the mine will include an above-ground tailings storage facility, environmental water and raw-water dams, water supply and treatment infrastructure, quarry pits, access roads, workshops, fuel and oil storage, communications and power infrastructure, as well as offices and accommodation facilities.

Jobs To Be Created
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
A$10-billion.

Duration
Hancock Coal expects the construction period to occur between 2013 and 2016, subject to the relevant approvals being granted for the project.

Latest Developments
The High Court of Australia has reportedly dismissed an appeal from greens group Coast and Country against the Alpha coal mine.

Coast and Country had applied for special leave to appeal the Appeal Court’s decision regarding the emissions that could result from the coal produced at the mine.

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) said on April 7 that Coast and Country’s argument “flies in the face of reality and is the equivalent to activists demanding that Saudi Arabia should take responsibility for emissions coming from exhaust pipes of Australians’ cars using Saudi oil”.

“This is just one in a long line of anticoal activists’ attempts to delay jobs and economic growth for Queensland, while pretending that a refusal to supply our coal will mean that countries like India will not simply source their coal from elsewhere,” the QRC has said in a statement.

In its statement the High Court said that it was a deceptive argument that stopping a one coal mine in central Queensland would influence the level of global emissions, considering that the use of coal continues to grow.

“Therefore, we have to recognise that renewables alone will not be able to meet the world’s appetite for energy and Queensland’s higher-quality black coal is well placed to meet a large share of that demand.”

Key Contracts and Suppliers
WorleyParsons and Ausenco (programme management services), Aurizon Holdings (rail development), Thiess (preferred mine operations contractor).

On Budget and on Time?
The project was granted environmental authority in 2014.

Since then, however, it has faced a number of legal challenges from environmental groups, including attempts to have the project’s environmental approval overturned.

Contact Details for Project Information
GVK Resources, tel +61 7 3003 5500, fax +61 7 3229 4788 or email mail@gvkresources.com.