The New Hope mining company pushed for 14 years to expand the New Acland mine near the Queensland town of Oakey. Now it's been approved, but some locals say they'll fight it 'like a mongrel dog'.
abc.net.au/news/qld-acland-mine-reaction/101379128A small town in regional Queensland is divided over the state government's approval of plans to expand the New Acland thermal coal mine.The thermal coal project is expected to create 400 jobsResources Minister Scott Stewart approved the project yesterday, ending more than a decade of uncertainty for Oakey, a town of 4,000 people near Toowoomba.
Local butcher Tony James said he lost a significant amount of business after the mine went into caretaker mode after running out of coal reserves last year."I just hope the water lease gets approved and they can start mining and help the town a bit more," he said."Hopefully it'll be a bit more buzzing in the town because at the moment it's a pretty solemn feel," he said.Local Alex Peters agrees.
The company only expects to mine 5.1 million tonnes per annum, though says the volume may change with demand. He said his concerns went beyond the destruction of prime agricultural land and strategic cropping land.