Approval paves way for coal exports

Major South West coal mining company Lanco Infratech will be able to export more than 10 million tonnes of coal a year from Bunbury Port after a $500 million expansion was approved earlier this month.

State Government Environment Minister Albert Jacob gave the final approval on June 18 for the upgrade to the Port’s Inner Harbour, which will have 1.9 million cubic metres of marine area dredged.

Lanco-run Collie mine Griffin Coal, which in recent months had been reported to post a loss of more than $70 million in the 12-month period to March.

The upgrades come after a three-year approval process and include a storage facility, unloader, conveyors, ship loader, rail loop, roads and supporting infrastructure.

Lanco executive general manager David Trench said the upgrades would allow the company to be sustainable, viable and dependable.

“We hope it provides a sustainable coal industry within WA, ” he said.

“The State Government support has always been there but we still have more processes to go through.

“Now we can make approvals to expand mining operations and allows us to reduce costs.”

The Conservation Council of WA has condemned the upgrades approval, accusing Mr Jacob of ignored pollution and health concerns raised by Bunbury residents and conservation groups.

The criticism comes after the report into the approval revealed the upgrades would cause ground disturbance of up to 30ha and the clearing of up to 2ha of native vegetation.

Conservation Council director Piers Verstegen said 15 million tonnes of coal a year exported from the Bunbury Port would mean “coal trains trundling through Bunbury every 45 minutes, 24 hours a day, every day of the year”.

“It will bring noise, it will bring dust and it will bring local pollution in Bunbury.

“But it will also create a massive new source of climate pollution where that coal is eventually burned in another country, ” he said.