Name and Location
New Acland Stage 3 coal mine expansion project, Queensland, Australia.

Client
New Acland Coal (NAC), a subsidiary of the NEW Hope Group.

Project Description
NAC currently operates the existing New Acland coal mine as a 4.8-million-tonne-a-year of product coal opencut coal mine on mining lease (ML) 50170 and ML 50216. The mine has reserves that will allow for current operations to continue until about 2017.

The revised coal project proposes to develop Stage 3 of the New Acland mine, which involves the extension of the mine’s operating life to about 2029, including the progressive development of two new resource areas within the area covered by

Mining Development Licence 244, also covered by ML Application 50232.

The two resource areas will be developed sequentially and combined with the current operations to supply up to 7.5-million tonnes a year of saleable product coal for the export and domestic markets until about 2029.

Key features of the project include:
• developing parts of the Manning Vale and Willeroo resource areas;
• upgrading the existing coal handling and preparation plant and supporting infrastructure;
• constructing a new coal load-out facility on the mining lease and an estimated 8 km rail spur, as a result of the relocation of the existing Jondaryan coal load-out facility; and
• roadworks and constructing water management structures, as well as relocating and potential upgrading the power supply to the revised project.

The Acland town area, including Tom Doherty park, the War Memorial and the Acland No 2 colliery and utility services will be maintained over the life of the revised project.

The closest point of potential mining operations will be at least 10 km away from Oakey, compared with 7 km as previously proposed.

The total amount of land disturbed for mining activities will be reduced by more than half, compared with the original Stage 3 proposal.

Veneering to coat all transported coal leaving the mine by train as a measure to reduce the potential for coal dust coming from trains will continue.

The Lagoon Creek will not be diverted as previously proposed. Operations will continue to be self-sufficient for water, with water continuing to be bought from Toowoomba’s Wetalla wastewater reclamation facility. Only about 20% of the Wetalla water is bought by NAC.

Production levels from the New Acland mine will be reduced by at least 25% to 7.5-million tonnes a year, from the originally proposed ten-million tonnes a year.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
A$900-million.

Duration
About 2.5 years will be required to complete the design, build and other related activities to facilitate the revised project.

Latest Developments
New Hope has received development approval for its New Acland Stage 3 project expansion, after the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection issued a draft environmental authority for the project.

This is an important milestone towards securing 435 full-time jobs for locals at the New Acland mine, near Oakey, on the Darling Downs. The draft environmental authority sets down 68 pages of 137 strict conditions on matters such as water, air quality and noise, with almost an additional 1 000 commitments to uphold.

The draft environmental authority and mining lease will now go to the Queensland Land Court, from which an outcome is required by mid-2016 to guarantee continuity of employment for those currently working at the mine.

The Queensland government had initially not supported New Acland’s original 2007 expansion plan, owing to its effect on high-quality agricultural land and its proximity to local townships. However, since 2012, New Hope has reduced the project’s footprint by about 60% and has confirmed that it will abandon 1 401 ha of the mining lease area, including the town of Acland. The company has also removed the proposed relocation of a heritage-listed item, reducing the impact on strategic cropping land.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Not stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
New Acland Coal, tel +61 7 3418 0500, fax +61 7 3418 0355 or email aclandinfo@newhopegroup.com.au.