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New UserRio Tinto loses court appeal on Australian coal mine expansion
07 Apr 2014
Rio Tinto lost a court battle on Monday to expand its Warkworth open cut coal mine in Australia, leaving the mine's future in doubt as the company tries to push through a revised application.
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision to revoke an expansion licence initially granted by the New South Wales government.
Rio Tinto had appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling by the Land and Environment Court in favour of environmental groups that claimed the benefits of the project did not justify the social and environmental impacts.
In the meantime, the company has already submitted revised development plans for the mine under new New South Wales state planning laws introduced late last year.
"We don't think that Rio Tinto's new submission is any different from the old one and we will fight it," said John Lamb, president of the Bulga Milbrodale Progress Assocation, the environmental group that brought the case.
The association, which represents the local community near the mine, argued it would create unacceptable noise and dust problems for nearby residents.
Rio Tinto has said the expansion is necessary to maintain the mine's long-term viability.
The mine is part of the integrated Mount Thorley Warkworth operation consisting of two open cut mines adjacent to each other in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales.
The operation supplies up to 10 million tonnes of semi-soft coking coal and thermal coal per annum, according to Rio Tinto's website.
Fellow Australian miner Whitehaven Coal Ltd in December won a court fight against environmentalists seeking to overturn the Australian government's approval of its A$767 million ($708.06 million) Maules Creek mine.
A federal court dismissed a challenge from a group concerned mine would destroy forests, deplete groundwater and spread coal dust on farms.
Source: Reuters