Whitehaven Coal has been advised that the federal Minister for the Environment has determined to approve the company’s Vickery Extension Project under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
“Whitehaven welcomes the EPBC approval, which represents the culmination of an exhaustive process of technical evaluation and stakeholder consultation at both the state and federal levels spanning five years,” the company said in a statement.
“This included a period of public exhibition administered by the NSW Department of Planning and the Environment which elicited 560 public submissions, 62 per cent of which called for the project to be approved in recognition of the substantial local economic benefits it offered, among other things.
“The NSW Independent Planning Commission approved the project in August 2020. Against the current backdrop of record high coal prices and strong demand in seaborne markets, the company sees a continuing role for high-quality coal of the type Vickery will produce in contributing to global CO2 emissions reduction and containment efforts while simultaneously supporting economic development in our near region.
“Further information on the role high-quality coal can play in the global energy transition is available in Whitehaven’s Sustainability Report 2021 here.
“Major employment-generating investments will be essential as the Australian economy continues to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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