Coal news and updates

Lawsuit against Whitehaven Coal's Narrabri Stage 3 extension consent dismissed

Updates with details on extension consent in paragraph 2; context on proceeding in paragraph 3; Whitehaven comment in paragraph 4; details on approval process in paragraph 5

BENGALURU, July 5 (Reuters) - Whitehaven Coal Ltd WHC.AX on Wednesday said an environmental court in New South Wales (NSW) dismissed proceedings initiated by an activist group to invalidate the state's consent for the extension of miner's Narrabri Stage 3 project.

In April last year, Australia's top independent coal miner received the "state significant development consent" from NSW's Independent Planning Commission for the extension of the project, which would extend the life of Narrabri underground mine by more than a decade to 2044.

The proceedings were initiated by the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) on behalf of the Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action Inc. EDO could not be immediately contacted, while Bushfire Survivors did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for a comment.

"Our consistent position has been that this legal claim was without merit," Whitehaven said in an exchange filing.

The Sydney-based coal miner is still awaiting a Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act approval to begin the extension project.

Shares of the coal miner were trading 1.4% lower as at 0151 GMT.