Anglo American has sent its plans for the development of its Drayton South thermal coal mine in Australia to the NSW Government for the third time.
The Planning Assessment Commission had rejected the company’s previous attempts to expand the mine due to the effect it would have on horse stud farms in the area.
As part of the Drayton South expansion, which will be a replacement for Drayton mine, the company plans to mine 75 million tonnes over 17 years, instead of 97 million tonnes over 20 years.
According to the company, the scaled-back mine plan will provide a buffer between the Coolmoore and Darley stud farms.
Anglo American coal business CEO Seamus French told Australian Mining that the company plans to lodge an environmental impact statement for the Drayton project earlier this year.
"Anglo American will develop a new project to provide employment and operational continuity for the Drayton workforce, address the planning assessment commission’s October 2014 report and deliver world-class environmental management practices around rehabilitation, noise, dust, visual amenity, proximity to neighbours and equine health."
Anglo American open cut operations head Mark Heaton said: "We believe the revised project plan and conditions will address the PAC concerns in a fair and reasonable manner in line with the government’s stated policy on industry coexistence.
"We ask the NSW Government to honour their recent comments about the need for planning reform and shorter project assessment periods, act on their statements about supporting the industry and approve the revised Drayton South proposal when it is lodged to avoid pending job losses."
