The Land Court of Queensland in Australia has recommended the Adani Group’s $12.5bn Carmichael coal mine in the north of the Galilee Basin be given state approval.
The latest decision follows the Australian government’s re-approval earlier in 2015 and now clears the way for the company to advance the project.
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The Land Court has suggested the inclusion of additional environmental conditions, including the monitoring of water bodies near the mine site and a thorough assessment of the presence of threatened bird species.
According to the court, the Carmichael project will be subject to 59 rigorous conditions under federal environmental law.
Queensland Resources Council Chief Executive Michael Roche said: "Coast and Country are serial abusers of the Queensland court system and we fear that they will not respect the Land Court’s recommendation as the final word.
"Adani has become the target of green activists’ vexatious litigation, having already faced two federal appeals and a string of cases against the Abbot Point expansion.
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By GlobalData"The activists’ disrupt and delay tactics are clearly outlined in the their anti-coal playbook Stopping the Australian Coal Export Boom, and continue to deny Queenslanders thousands of needed jobs and millions of dollars to help pay for state services such as schools, police and hospitals."
Regional communities including Alpha, Clermont, Emerald, Bowen, Moranbah, Mackay, Rockhampton and Townsville are all expected to benefit from the development of the untapped resources in the Galilee Basin, Roche added.
Australian Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt approved Adani’s long-delayed Carmichael coal mine project in October 2015 in accordance with national environment law, subject to 36 of the strictest conditions.
Earlier in January 2015, Mackay Conservation Group filed a lawsuit alleging that the mine would export up to 60m tonnes of coal across the Great Barrier Reef Coast every year, damaging the ecosystem.
Mining at the proposed Carmichael thermal coal mine is to be conducted by both open-cut and underground methods.
Image: Satelite image of the Great Barrier Reef. Photo: courtesy of NASA.
