By Peter Hannam

July 1, 2020 - In Australia, the Berejiklian government has been accused of using COVID-19 as a cover to speed up approvals for a mine expansion that won't alter operations significantly or create many jobs until after 2035.

Mining giant Glencore last year sought approval for works that would allow the life of its Bulga Coal mine in the Hunter Valley to extend four years beyond its permit date to the end of 2039.

Bulga Coal is one of the Hunter Valley coal mines. It has been granted 'fast-track' status for a mine extension that won't start until 2035.

Credit: Dean Osland

The government last week revealed the plan made it to the third batch of "Fast-Tracked Assessments" worthy of quicker approval because it would generate 1000 jobs and trigger $95 million in investments. It would also enable the extraction of an extra 63 million tonnes of coal.

The listing cited the benefits of "the economic recovery of available coal resources using the existing infrastructure, facilities and experienced personnel" as another reason for the priority billing.

One issue – according to Bulga Coal's own application – is that the existing open-cut mine employs 700 staff, with 150 more "shared" with the overall operations.

A spokesperson for the Department of Planning conceded the proposal, if approved, would only "provide for the immediate employment of 150 additional construction workers".

The other 850 workers, though, would get "job security" or have their employment extended if the mine were to operate for four years at the end of the next decade.

Deputy Premier and Resources Minister John Barilaro defended Bulga Coal's inclusion in the list: "You may say it's 15 years ahead but what happens is that with their extensions, it means that companies that are currently running those mines invest today for the future if there's certainty."

"Activities would commence immediately after receipt of approval for Bulga Optimisation Project Modification 3 and other associated secondary approvals," a Glencore spokesman said.

"Receipt of approval for this modification would enable us to extract additional tonnes largely from within the same mine footprint," he said, without detailing how many jobs would stem from the $95 million investment.

Justin Field, the independent upper house MP, said the inclusion of the mine "makes a mockery of the government's claims the planning fast-track process is to 'keep people in jobs now and in the months ahead'."

Coal projects are among those that the government wants to fast-track approval for to aid the post-coronavirus pandemic revival.

Credit: Nic Walker

"It's unbelievable that a coal mine extension not needed until 2035 is considered by this government as urgent shovel-ready stimulus," Field said. "How can we trust this government when they are using the cover of COVID to appease the coal-mining industry?"

Although the mine extension partly includes mining under existing tailings, it would also involve clearing of 20.2 hectares of an endangered ecological community, which Glencore plans to offset.

Georgina Woods, NSW co-ordinator for the Lock the Gate Alliance, said the government was "breaching the public's trust by fast-tracking a modification project for a mine that is already operating, allowing it to clear critically endangered woodland and cut its pit deeper to get more coal".

"There's nothing additional here but environmental harm," Woods said. "This is what we were afraid would happen when the government stripped the Independent Planning Commission of responsibility for mine modifications."

"Instead of sneaking through a fast-track and abusing the public's trust, Glencore should subject its plans to a thorough environmental and social impact assessment," she said.