Carmichael A$16.5 billion coal project

Overview:

• The Carmichael coal mine is a proposed thermal coal mine with a A$16.5 billion ($12.2 billion) investment in the north of the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland, Australia.
• The mine is proposed by Adani Mining—a subsidiary of India's Adani Group—which will be conducted by both open-cut and underground methods.
• POSCO was appointed to two major Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts for the delivery of infrastructure to service the project, comprising of a new A$1 billion port terminal at Abbot Point, which will have capacity for 40 Metric tonnes per annum initially with an expansion to 70 mtpa in its second phase; and the $2 billion, 388 km greenfield standard gauge rail line component of the mine project.
• The intended scale of the Carmichael Project is unprecedented in the Australian coal industry, and it is expected to be the largest in Australia and one of the largest in the world, with expected production of approximately 60 million tonnes per annum.
• On the 29 July 2014, federal Minister for Environment, Greg Hunt gave approval for the mine to proceed, but on 5 August 2015, the federal Department of Environment and Adani signed consent orders in the Federal Court to set aside approval of the Carmichael project.
• The mine has courted controversy in relation to its claimed economic benefits, its financial viability, plans for government subsidy, and the damaging environmental impacts.

Adam Majeed - Regional editor