Last updated: 26 September 2022

There are currently 29 coal mining projects that are referred for assessment under Australia’s Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. These coal mining expansion projects require approval decisions by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. When Tanya Plibersek became Australia’s environment Minister, she inherited 27 coal mining approval decisions from the previous government. Minister Plibersek has indicated she will reject one of these projects, the Clive Palmer owned Central Queensland Coal project. Three more coal mining projects have since been referred for assessment under the EPBC Act, bringing the total number of coal mining projects on Minister Pliversek’s desk to 29.

Read on Bloomberg

Take Action

Of the 29 referred coal mining projects, 16 are brownfield extensions to existing mines and 13 are new greenfield coal mines. NSW has 12 new referred coal mining projects, and Queensland has 17.

Albanese’s government “is talking the talk that Australia is back on climate, but it’s got all these coal mines that are under review... We cannot allow new mines to be dug in 2022,” Fahimah Badrulhisham, spokesperson for Move Beyond Coal,

There are also applications before the Environment Minister to protect Aboriginal Cultural Heritage sites from coal mining, such as the Wonnarua people’s section 10 application regarding Glencore’s Glendell coal mine extension. Minister Plibersek will also make a decision on whether to approve Adani’s North Galilee Water Scheme (NGWS), a pipeline proposed to transport 12.5 billion litres of water each year from the Suttor river to the Adani Carmichael coal mine to wash coal. The Federal Court found the previous Minister Sussan Ley made an error of law by not applying the water trigger to the assessment of the project and the project is now being reassessed.

This analysis estimates the Scope 3 emissions of each referred new coal project, created from the burning of the coal produced. Scope 3 emissions account for the overwhelming majority of greenhouse gas emissions of coal mining, however Scope 3 emissions of exported coal are not considered in Australia’s domestic climate targets. This analysis of estimated scope 3 emissions from EPBC referred coal mining projects highlights the immense contribution to global warming these projects would make if approved by Minister Plibersek.

Summary of results

The analysis estimates that the 29 coal mining projects currently awaiting federal approval, if approved by Minister Plibersek, would produce 17,545,693,748 tonnes of CO2 emissions from the burning of coal (scope 3 emissions) if the projects proceed. This is equivalent to about 35 times Australia’s current annual reported emissions from all sources and approximately half of all energy related annual emissions for the entire world in 2021 (36.3 billion tonnes), according to the International Energy Agency

The total scope 3 CO2 emissions for 12 proposed coal mining projects in NSW currently awaiting federal approval is estimated to be 4,418,956,628 tonnes. Total scope 3 CO2 emissions for 17 proposed coal mining projects in Queensland currently awaiting federal approval is estimated to be 13,126,737,120 tonnes.

Download as PDF

Key Coal Expansion Threats

Valeria Coal Project (QLD) - Glencore

EIS docs here

Proposed by Glencore PLC, the biggest coal miner in Australia, the Valeria project is a greenfield open-cut thermal and metallurgical coal mine, near Emerald in Central Queensland. It plans to produce 17 million tonnes of ROM coal per annum for approximately 35 years. Construction is planned to start in 2024.

The six pit open cut mine is likely to impact on over a dozen nationally listed threatened species. The mine would destroy 10,365 ha of land 270km west of Rockhampton near Capella - a key agricultural region where wheat, sorghum, and beef are produced. The rail line and associated infrastructure would impact a further 12,000 hectares, including prime farmland and important habitat for at least 17 threatened species or ecological communities, including the koala and greater glider.

Winchester South Coal Project (QLD) - Whitehaven Coal

EIS docs here

The proposed greenfield mine would dig about 17 million tonnes of ROM coal each year for 28 years. The project is located on the Issac River floodplain and would drain local groundwater at an average of 183 million litres each year, with a potential maximum rate of 352 million litres each year into the mine pits.

Whitehaven’s EIS reveals it plans to leave four unrehabilitated pit voids (giant holes where mining has occurred) at the end of the mine's life. These pits will continue to drain water from the surrounding area and concentrate heavy metals and salts in the voids.

The total proposed disturbance footprint of the mine is approximately 7,130 ha and Whitehaven plans to clear 719.9 ha of remnant vegetation and 6,408.6 ha of non remnant vegetation that provides habitat for listed threatened species including the Greater Glider, Squatter Pigeon and the Koala which has recently been listed as Endangered in Queensland. Winchester South would also clear over 100 hectares of endangered Natural Grasslands and other endangered ecosystems.

Narrabri Underground Extension Project (NSW) - Whitehaven coal

EIS docs here

The project will extend the Narrabri coal mine’s life by 13 years to 2044 and increase the total ROM coal mined from 170 million to 280 million tonnes. This planned underground expansion of the existing mine would release high levels of the potent greenhouse gas methane, which is released when the coal is mined. Methane is 86 times more potent than CO2 over the first 20 years of its release. In addition to the 28,512,000 tonnes of scope 3 emissions of CO2, the project would emit 1.36 million tonnes of scope 1&2 CO2-equivalent a year, making it the dirtiest thermal coal mine in Australia,¹ mostly through its very high methane emissions. A further 456m tonnes of CO2 would be released after the coal is sold and then burned.

The project will extend the mine’s life by 13 years to 2044 and increase the total coal mined from 170m to 280million tonnes.

Hunter Valley Operations North and South projects (NSW) - Yancoal and Glencore

EIS docs here and here

Yancoal and Glencore are seeking approval to extend the life of the Hunter Valley Operations North and Hunter Valley Operations South thermal coal mines until 2050 and extract an additional 400 million tonnes of coal. The two mine sites have separate development consents, but operate together as a large mining complex near Singleton, in the NSW Hunter Valley. Currently, the approved mining completion dates are 2025 for HVO North and 2030 for HVO South.

The two projects were referred for assessment in June 2022, just weeks after Minister Plibersek was sworn in as Environment Minister. HVO North and South are estimated to contribute 1,737,612,800 tonnes of carbon pollution over their operating life, more than three times Australia’s annual reported emissions.

Significantly, these proposed extensions extend the life of large thermal coal mines to 2050, while global climate agreements require advanced economies like Australia, Japan and South Korea, to have phased out thermal coal use by 2030.

1 Narrabri mine expansion would make it dirtiest thermal coalmine in Australia, environmentalists say - The Guardian

Methodology

Product coal volume information was located in Environmental Impact Statements and planning documents for coal mine projects in Queensland. Product coal is the amount of coal that a mine will produce after run of mine (ROM) coal is processed. Product coal is mined coal that will be burned and produce emissions.

For projects with average annual product coal volumes published in EIS documents, this figure was multiplied by the number of years the project is proposed to operate, to estimate the total volume of product coal for the life of mine.

For projects where average annual product coal volume data was absent but an indicative mine schedule included anticipated annual product coal production, all anticipated annual product coal volumes were added together to estimate the total volume of product coal for the life of mine. An example of a project where an indicative mine schedule is published, but not an average annual product coal figure is the Horse Pit extension project, see Figure 3.6 on page 25.

For projects where annual product coal volume data and an indicative mine schedule was absent, ROM coal volumes were assumed to have a recovery rate of 80%. Therefore product coal volumes were estimated to be 80% of ROM coal volumes. NSW projects that fall into this category are marked in the table below with an asterisk next to the project name.

To estimate Scope 3 CO2 emissions from the proposed coal mining projects total product coal volumes of the life of mine for each project were multiplied by the gross energy content for thermal and metallurgical coal, as specified in Table 5.4 from the AES Guide to the Australian Energy Statistics 2021. Energy content per tonne of thermal coal is 27 petajoule (PJ) / tonne and 29 PJ / tonne for metallurgical coal. When coal is burned, it produces 94,600 tonnes of CO2 per petajoule (PJ) of energy, according to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories - Volume 2 Energy. Multiplying the total gross energy content (PJ) by 94,600 produces an estimate of the total number of tonnes of CO2 that will be produced by the burning of the life of mine coal.

For projects planning to produce both metallurgical coal and thermal coal, an energy per mass value of 28 was applied as this figure is between the energy content of thermal coal (27 petajoule / tonne) and the energy content of metallurgical coal (29 petajoule / tonne).

Example project calculation: Winchester South Coal Project (thermal and metallurgical coal) 

NSW: 12 new coal mining projects currently awaiting decision by the Federal Environment Minister

The total estimated scope 3 CO2 emissions for proposed coal mining projects in NSW awaiting decision by the Federal Environment Minister: 4,418,956,628 tonnes CO2.

² Full EIS still being prepared. Product coal is 22 mtpa from 24mtpa ROM coal, therefore 91.6% of ROM coal ends up as product coal. OC3 extension will produce 9mtpa ROM coal, 91.6% of 9mtpa is 8.2mtpa of product coal produced by the OC3 extension. P18 - Figure 8 https://epbcpublicportal.awe.gov.au/_entity/sharepointdocumentlocation/faafcb27-63b1-ec11-bea1-00155d69a18d/2ab10dab-d681-4911-b881-cc99413f07b6?file=20 22-9162%20Att%20E%20-%20OC3%20Extension%20Project%20Scoping%20Report.pdf

³ P1 https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=SSD-9349%2120191209T222458.979%20GMT

⁴ Executive Summary

https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=SSD-9349%2120191209T222458.979%20GMT

⁵ Table 3.3, p 23 - https://machenergyaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/5.-Section-3-Project-Description.pdf

⁶ P14 https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=SSD-10418%2120210201T005053.450%20GMT

⁷    https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=SSD-10269%2120201023T021126.211%20GMT

⁸ P 50 https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=SSD-10269%2120201023T021207.795%20GMT

⁹ P 39 lists coal recovery rate of 80% for the Ravensworth UG project https://www.glencore.com.au/.rest/api/v1/documents/445ec81e32793df85c1881f379c1e131/RUM_AEMR_2009.pdf  ¹⁰ P 14 of the Ravensworth UG modification report lists in Table 1, the continued production rate of 7mtpa (ROM) coal

https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=DA104/96-MOD-10%2120211109T090741.707%20GMT 7mtpa of ROM coal with a recovery rate of 80% means approximately 5.6mtpa of product coal would be produced from the modification.

11 P 57 https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=MP09_0182-MOD-8%2120210722T053500.297%20GMT

¹² Ibid

¹³ P 79 https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=SSD-10333%2120210820T000421.648%20GMT

¹⁴ ibid

¹⁵ P 7 states 154mt ROM coal is anticipated to be produced over the 25 year life of mine. Assuming a recovery rate of 80% it is estimated the mine would produce

123.2mt of product coal over its 25 year life, this equates to an average of 6.24 mtpa of product coal each year https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=PDA-105%2120190228T215914.010%20GMT

¹⁶ P 11 states ‘No changes are proposed to the current approved maximum annual coal extraction rate at HVO North of 22 Mtpa.’ assuming an 80% recovery rate for ROM coal, is is estimated the project would produce 17.6 mtpa of product coal https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=SSD-11826681%2120201218T052623.883%20GMT

¹⁷ P 11 states ‘at HVO South a reduction in the maximum annual ROM coal extraction rate is proposed, from 20 Mtpa to 18 Mtpa.’ assuming an 80% recovery rate for ROM coal (18mtpa), it is estimated the project would produce 14.4 mtpa of product coal https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=SSD-11826681%2120201218T052623.883%20GMT

18 https://epbcpublicportal.awe.gov.au/_entity/sharepointdocumentlocation/d1aceb4e-b716-ed11-b83e-00224818a6e7/2ab10dab-d681-4911-b881-cc99413f07b6?file=0 0-2022-09292%20Referral.pdf

19 https://epbcpublicportal.awe.gov.au/_entity/sharepointdocumentlocation/0fe8a264-af00-ed11-82e5-0022481543c7/2ab10dab-d681-4911-b881-cc99413f07b6?file=00-2022-09270%20Referral.pdf

²⁰ Ibid

QLD: 17 new coal mining projects currently awaiting decision by the Federal Environment Minister

The total Scope 3 CO2 emissions for proposed coal mining projects in Queensland currently awaiting decision by the Federal Environment Minister is 13,126,737,120 tonnes of CO2.

²¹ p.16 https://jellinbah.com.au/wp-content/uploads/20191126_Meadowbrook_IAS_v3.5_Final.pdf

²² p.25 https://environment.des.qld.gov.au/  data/assets/pdf_file/0022/261940/HPE-EA-Amendment-Supporting-Document.pdf

²³ p. 4-1 https://www.idemitsu.com.au/mining/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Chapter-4-Project-description-and-alternatives.pdf

²⁴ p.3 https://www.qld.gov.au/  data/assets/pdf_file/0026/108377/middlemount-stage-2-eis-assessment-report.pdf

²⁵ P1, 1.2 ‘The volume of coal product will approximate 14-16 Mtpa’

https://epbcpublicportal.awe.gov.au/_entity/sharepointdocumentlocation/9d5b4858-eab3-ec11-983f-00224818ab04/2ab10dab-d681-4911-b881-cc99413f07b6?file=2 021-9077%20-%20referral.pdf

²⁶ https://www.qld.gov.au/  data/assets/pdf_file/0015/108312/baralaba-south-ias.pdf

²⁷  https://www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/coordinator-general/assessments-and-approvals/coordinated-projects/current-projects/winchester-south-project

²⁸ https://www.qld.gov.au/  data/assets/pdf_file/0015/108411/saraji_east_ias.pdf

²⁹ Total product coal extracted is 1.875, divided by 5 year production mine life = 0.375

³⁰ P 3 https://www.qld.gov.au/   data/assets/pdf_file/0023/108446/walton-ias.pdf

³¹ 4.2 of project description -

https://eisdocs.dsdip.qld.gov.au/China%20Stone%20Coal/DEIS/Draft%20EIS%20-%20Volume%201A/china-stone-chapter-4-project-description.pdf

³² p.1 https://www.waratahcoal.com/alpha-north-coal-project/ “The project intends to mine 56 Mtpa of run-of-mine (ROM) coal, which will be later processed to produce 40 Mtpa of product coal”

³³ p.2 https://www.qld.gov.au/  data/assets/pdf_file/0023/108437/the-range-eis-assessment-report.pdf

³⁴ Webpage says project with have yield of 89% (1.7 is 89% of 1.9mtpa ROM coal) http://www.cuestacoal.com.au/projects/west-bowen

35

https://epbcpublicportal.awe.gov.au/_entity/sharepointdocumentlocation/438afbe1-bc12-ed11-b83d-00224818a1ee/2ab10dab-d681-4911-b881-cc99413f07b6?file=0 0-2022-09294%20Referral.pdf

³⁶ http://millmerranpower.com/

Note: the Federal Minister is currently proposing to reject the Central Queensland Coal Project, we are assuming this draft decision will proceed.

 37

https://eisdocs.dsdip.qld.gov.au/Blackwater%20South%20Coking%20Coal/Initial%20Advice%20Statement/blackwater-south-coking-coal-project-initial-advice-statem ent.PDF

³⁸ Ibid

³⁹ Ibid

⁴⁰ Presentation states 49.3 MT product coal will be produced over life time of 19 years, making for average annual product coal production of https://cqcoal.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/20180719-CQC-Project.pdf

The IEA estimated that Australian coal mines emitted 1.8 million tonnes of methane in 2021, double the officially reported figures. Independent satellite measurements have also uncovered underreporting of methane emissions from Australian coal mines.