Infrastructure firm GVK Group on Tuesday said the Land Court of Queensland in Australia has granted conditional clearance to its $10 billion Alpha Coal Mine project.
When fully commissioned, the mine will produce 32 million tonnes of thermal coal per year for the Asian export market.
The coal project is expected to provide direct employment to about 7,500 people during construction and almost 4,000 once operational, contributing over $40 billion in taxes and royalties over the life of the mines.
“GVK Hancock welcomes the recommendations from the Land Court that the Environmental Authority (clearance) and Mining Lease for our Alpha coal project be granted subject to conditions. We fully understand the significant benefits our projects will bring to the region and will continue to work with the environmental regulators in relation to these recommendations,” GVK said in a statement.
In 2011, GVK had acquired 79 per cent stake in the Alpha Coal and Alpha West projects and 100 per cent stake in the Kevin’s Corner project in Queensland from Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd.
GVK’s Alpha Coal Mine is located in the Galilee Basin with the first coal expected to be extracted by 2016.
In August 2012, the Australian government gave green signal to Alpha Coal project comprising operation of coal mine and a railway line between the mine and the port at Abbot Point, near Bowen.
The Hancock coal project is expected to bring on line a new world class high quality, low ash, low sulphur, low gas thermal coal basin with an ability to lower global emissions from coal fired power generation, the statement added.