27 January 2010
Coal & Allied seeks to enlarge existing Mt Thorley mine pit to access extra 5Mt
Coal & Allied is applying to the New South Wales Government to extend an existing approved mine pit to extract coal from company-owned land - most of which has been previously mined.
Coal & Allied has submitted a Statement of Environmental Effects to the Department of Planning for a modification to its Mt Thorley consent, to extract approximately five million tonnes of additional run of mine coal from the existing mine pit, which is largely within previously mined areas.
General Manager Operations, Cam Halfpenny, said the three coal seams that the pit accesses are already approved for extraction.
"Our submission for this modification is being advertised and placed on exhibition notice," Mr Halfpenny said.
"This is one of a number of applications that we are currently considering to access more coal from our existing leases, avoiding the need to acquire new land or enlarge our footprint in the community.
"As a result, members of the community may see additional drilling rigs on our property which is part of our ongoing exploration work, or newspaper advertisements to access further areas within our existing leases."
Mr Halfpenny said the proposed modification to the Mt Thorley pit would require the realignment of the existing coal haul road on Coal & Allied's land to take coal from the extended pit to the existing Mount Thorley coal preparation plant.
Minor items of infrastructure within the coal haul road realignment area would also need to be relocated to adjacent locations within the confines of the approved mine site.
ENDS
Media Enquiries:
Alison Smith 07 3361 4223 / 0 438 787 038