Dartbrook gets its restart, but no extension
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission (IPC) has green-lit the restart of the mothballed Dartbrook coal mine, in the Upper Hunter region, however, the operation will only be allowed to run until December 2022.
Dartbrook was placed on a care and maintenance in late 2006, on the back of the falling coal price and operational difficulties.
ASX-listed Australian Pacific Coal lodged an application to modify the existing mining approval to allow for the restart of underground operation, using bord and pillar mining, and to extend the current approvals process by five years, until December 2027.
Following strong opposition from the Upper Hunter Shire Council and the local community, the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment in January this year referred the matter to the IPC.
The commission has now taken the decision to allow underground coal mining to restart using bord and pillar methods, and the use of varied coal clearance systems. However, a decision was taken not to extend the project approval beyond 2022.
The IPC said that the partial approval for the application was acceptable, since the mining operation had been approved until 2022, and because bord and pillar mining had been acknowledged as a less intensive and environment-impacting activity, compared with longwall mining.
Australian Pacific has also vowed to seal a haul road in order to reduce dust emissions and had proposed ‘reasonable and feasible’ measures to minimise noise impacts and mitigate flood risks.
However, in taking the decision not to extend the mine life of Dartbrook, the IPC said that there was uncertainty about the future impacts of the operation, and that Australian Pacific had not adequately evaluated these impacts.
Australian Pacific previously said that the five-year extension of the project approval was necessary to support the capital expenditure required to recommission the project.
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