Published: August 5, 2021 |

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The Queensland government in Australia has released a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for Whitehaven Coal’s proposed AU$1 billion ($740.67 million) Winchester South Project.

According to the regional government, the release of the draft EIS marks a step closer to creating 1,000 new jobs in Queensland for the construction and operation of the metallurgical coal mine. Apart from that, the coal mine will generate over AU$500 million ($370.34 million) in royalties.

The project’s EIS outlines the proposed design, the potential environmental and socio-economic impacts, as well as the prospective benefits.

As per the EIS, the Winchester South Project involves the construction of a new open-cut coal mine, a coal processing plant, and a rail loop. The role of the rail loop will be to connect the project with the existing Bowen Basin coal rail network thereby giving access to various ports.

“This project will be a massive jobs and business boost for Central Queensland and the Isaac region particularly, with those benefits extending east to Mackay. Whitehaven Coal has a strong record of local employment and is committed to maintaining local employment here in Queensland,” said Queensland Resources Minister Scott Stewart.

“Ongoing investment in our resources sector continues to underpin Queensland’s economic recovery plan and prove that Queensland is the place to be when it comes to resources investment,” added Stewart.

The Queensland government is now seeking public feedback on the Winchester South Project. The public notification period will be open for six weeks until September 15, 2021 to allow community members and other stakeholders to have their say on the proposed coal mining project.

“This project will support ongoing economic development in regional Queensland and importantly in the customer countries where the product will be used. We encourage any interested parties to have a say as part of this public notification process,” said Whitehaven Coal Managing Director and CEO Paul Flynn.

The Winchester South Project is located 30km south-east of Moranbah, in the Bowen Basin Project. It is estimated to yield up to 11 million tonnes per annum (tpa) of primary metallurgical coal product for the steel industry and a secondary thermal coal product to be used for generating electricity. At full capacity, the coal mine will target run-of-mine (ROM) production of up to 17 million tonnes per annum of coal to cater to the international market for nearly 30 years.

The Winchester South Project was acquired by Whitehaven Coal in 2018 from Rio Tinto and Scentre Group.

Source: NS Energy

About Whitehaven Coal
Whitehaven Coal is a large Australian independent thermal and semisoft metallurgical coal miner with several mines in the Gunnedah Basin, New South Wales. It also owns the large undeveloped Vickery and Winchester South deposits in New South Wales and Queensland respectively. Coal is railed to the port of Newcastle for export to Asian customers. Equity salable coal production expanded from 10 million tonnes in fiscal 2014 to about 15 million tonnes in fiscal 2021, largely due to Maules Creek. The Maules Creek and Narrabri mines should be the key driver of an expansion in equity coal production to approach 19 million tonnes from fiscal 2023. Development of the Vickery deposit could see approximately 8 million tonnes of additional equity production from around 2025.

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