Name of the Project
New Acland Stage 3 coal mine expansion project.

Location
Queensland, Australia.

Project Owner/s
New Acland Coal (NAC), a subsidiary of Australian coal miner New Hope Group.

Project Description
NAC operates the existing New Acland coal mine as a 4.8-million-tonne-a-year 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 project will expand the mine’s yearly output from 4.8-million tonnes to 7.5-million tonnes and will extend the operation’s life beyond the current end-date of 2017/18.

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, will 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-long rail spur, as a result of the relocation of the existing Jondaryan coal load-out facility;
• roadworks and constructing water management structures; and
• relocating and potentially 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 the 7 km previously proposed.

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

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

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. NAC buys only about 20% of the Wetalla water.

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.

Potential Job Creation
The permanent workforce will reach about 400 full-time positions once New Acland Stage 3 is fully developed.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
A$900-million.

Planned Start/End Date
First mining is on track for late 2023, and first coal shipment is still expected in quarter one of 2024.

Latest Developments
New Hope announced a resolution to the long-standing legal challenges of the project on January 14.

In a statement to the ASX, New Hope said that NAC and the Oakey Coal Action Alliance (OCAA), represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, had agreed to discontinue OCAA’s Land Court of Queensland appeal against the Queensland government’s decision to grant an associated water licence for the project.

The agreement, subject to the consent of the Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers, must be formalised through filing with the Land Court of Queensland. Once finalised, end years of legal opposition by OCAA and enable New Acland to proceed with its operational ramp-up.

New Hope chairperson Robert Millner has said the end of OCAA's challenge gave the company confidence to progress its New Acland Stage 3 ramp-up plan and develop the Manning Vale West mining area.

Since resuming operations, the New Acland workforce has grown to about 300 employees. 

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
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.