The Critical List: 91 coal projects Australia can’t afford

Special Report

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The Climate Commission’s The Critical Decade 2013 confirms that Australians are already suffering the impacts of climate change. The consequences of our failure to tackle rising greenhouse gas emissions, the bulk of which come from burning fossil fuels, are being felt already and will get much worse. The Climate Commission’s recent report confirmed that to avoid dangerous climate change – which means not allowing global average temperatures to rise by more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels – most of Australia’s fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground.1

Despite this clear warning, State and Federal Governments are considering allowing the coal industry in NSW and Queensland to develop 91 new coal mining projects between now and the end of the critical decade. If they are allowed to proceed, burning the coal from these new projects could add an additional 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each year after 2018, and help drive dangerous levels of global warming. Australia has committed to not allow global average temperatures to rise by more than 2°C, and this commitment has bi-partisan support. We have been shown that we cannot meet this goal and continue expanding our coal industry.

This special report reveals the scale of coal expansion proposed for NSW and Queensland, its likely contribution to global greenhouse pollution, and the projects that must be halted if Australia takes seriously its commitment to preventing 2°C of global warming. The choice is before us: it is coal, or the country.

Burning all fossil fuel reserves would lead to unprecedented changes in climate so severe that they will challenge the existence of our society as we know it today.

Climate Commission The Critical Decade 2013

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Our choice: coal means climate change

Worldwide, coal makes the biggest contribution to greenhouse gas pollution, and this pollution is rising quickly. Burning fossil fuels -- coal, oil and gas -- is driving climate change and is killing and harming hundreds of thousands of people every year.2 The Climate Commission has made clear Australia’s key policy conundrum: to continue expanding our coal exports means inflicting the worsening impacts of climate change on every other industry in this country, and every one of its citizens, for the sake of just one industry. This is not reasonable.

We know that to have a 50:50 chance of limiting warming to below two degrees above pre-industrial levels we must not mine, sell and burn most of the world’s coal. To have an 80% chance of meeting that goal more than three-quarters of the world’s coal must remain in the ground.3

The International Energy Agency has stated that, “To keep open a realistic chance of meeting the 2°C target, intensive action is required before 2020, the date by which a new international climate agreement is due to come into force. Energy is at the heart of this challenge: the energy sector accounts for around two-thirds of greenhouse-gas emissions as more than 80% of global energy consumption is based on fossil fuels.” 4 According to the International Energy Agency, in a scenario where the world acts to meet the goal of limiting warming to below two degrees, “Global demand for coal peaks around 2016 and then declines by 2.7% per year on average”.5

In a carbon constrained world where energy coal is the biggest contributor to a carbon problem how do you think this is going to evolve… I suspect the usage of thermal coal is going to decline, and frankly, it should.

Marcus Randolph Chief Executive, Iron and Coal BHP Billiton 5 November 2012

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How much more coal is Australia planning to mine and sell in this critical time period?

NSW and Queensland already have over 100 operational black coal mines. In those states there are 91 new coal projects proposed, 54 of which are entirely new mines with the remainder being mine extension or expansion projects. Most of these projects are proposed to be approved and begin operation before 2020. All require approval from State or Federal Governments, or both. If these new coal projects go ahead, they will produce, once fully operating, 604 million tonnes of coal per year beyond the roughly 400 million tonnes that are being produced by already operating mines. That is enough coal to create over 1.5Gt of carbon dioxide pollution annually. When added to the 720 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually produced from the coal already exported from Australia, it would take the carbon dioxide contribution of Australian coal industry globally to over 2 billion tonnes per annum.

Figure: New carbon dioxide emissions from Australian coal projects

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Map: New coal projects in NSW and Queensland

The 91 new coal projects in NSW and QLD

KEY

Existing mines

NEW SOUTH WALES

QUEENSLAND

Expanding mines

New mines

Brisbane

Gladstone

Rockhampton

Emerald

Tamworth

Muswellbrook

Bathurst

Moranbah

Mackay

Bowen

Gold Coast

Newcastle

Sydney

Wollongong

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Table: New coal projects in NSW and Queensland, by region

Coal region New coal projects Proposed capacity Additional CO2

Bowen Basin 43 184 486

Cape York 1 2 4

Clarence-Moreton Basin 3 9 23

Galilee Basin 7 222 531

Gloucester 2 4 9

Gunnedah Basin 5 26 65

Hunter 9 41 101

Maryborough Basin 1 1 1

Newcastle coalfield 2 9 22

Southern coalfield 4 11 30

Styx Basin 1 2 4

Surat Basin 9 72 171

Western coalfields 4 23 56

Total 91 604 1502

Table: New coal projects seeking Government approvals6

Project Company State Coal region Type Est. Start Est. capacity Est. CO2

Alpha Coal Project GVK – Hancock Coal QLD Galilee Basin New mine 2016 30 72

Appin Area 9 BHP Billiton NSW Southern coalfield Expansion 2016 3.5 9

Arcturus Bandanna Energy QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2018+ 3 7

Ashton South East opencut

Yancoal Australia NSW Hunter Expansion 2018+ 3.6 9

Austar underground (stage 3)

Yancoal Australia NSW Newcastle coalfield Expansion 2013 3.6 10

Baralaba expansion Cockatoo Coal QLD Clarence-Moreton Basin Expansion 2014 3.5 9

Baralaba South Cockatoo Coal QLD Clarence-Moreton Basin Expansion 2014 3 8

Belvedere underground Vale QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2016 7 19

Bengalla expansion (stage 2)

Rio Tinto / Wesfarmers

NSW Hunter Expansion 2018+ 1.4 3

Boggabri opencut Idemitsu Kosan NSW Gunnedah Basin Expansion 2014 3.5 8

Broadmeadow (mine life extension)

BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance

(BMA)QLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2013 0.4 1

Bundi Coal Project MetroCoal QLD Surat Basin New mine 2017 5 12

Byerwen Coal ProjectQCoal / JFE Steel

CorporationQLD Bowen Basin New mine 2015 10 27

Carmichael Coal Project (mine and rail)

Adani QLD Galilee Basin New mine 2016 60 143

Caval RidgeBHP Billiton

Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA)

QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2014 8 22

China First Coal project (Galilee Coal Project)

Waratah Coal QLD Galilee Basin New mine 2017 40 96

Coalpac consolidation (Cullen Valley and Invincible mines)

Coalpac NSW Western coalfields Expansion 2016 1.6 4

CobboraCobbora Holding

Company NSW Western coalfields New mine 2015 12 29

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Codrilla Peabody Energy QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2017 3.2 9

Colton New Hope QLD Maryborough Basin New mine 2015 0.5 1

Comet RidgeAcacia Coal /

Bandanna EnergyQLD Galilee Basin New mine 2015 0.4 1

Curragh Mine Wesfarmers QLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2018+ 1.5-2 5

DauniaBHP Billiton

Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA)

QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2013 4.5 12

Dingo West Bandanna Energy QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2014 1 3

Doyles CreekNucoal Resources

/ MMINSW Hunter New mine 2018+ 4.8 11

Drake Coal project QCoal QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2014 6 15

Drayton South Anglo Coal Australia NSW Hunter Expansion 2015 4 10

Duralie Extension project

Yancoal Australia NSW Gloucester Expansion 2018+ 1.2 3

Eagle Downs (Peak Downs East

underground)

Aquila Resources / Vale

QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2016 4.5 12

Eaglefield Peabody Energy QLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2015 5.2 14

Elimatta New Hope QLD Surat Basin New mine 2016 5 12

Ellensfield coal mine project

Vale QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2018+ 5.5 14

Foxleigh Plains Project Anglo Coal Australia QLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2014 1.4 4

Grosvenor Phase 2 Anglo American QLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2017 6 16

Grosvenor underground

Anglo American QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2013 5 14

Hillalong Rocklands Richfield QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2018+ 1.8 5

Jax QCoal QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2018+ 1.8 5

Jellinbah EastJellinbah, Marubeni,

Sojitz QLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2015 2 5

Kestrel Rio Tinto, Mitsui QLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2013 1.4 4

Kevin's Corner GVK QLD Galilee Basin New mine 2016 30 72

Lake VermontJellinbah, Marubeni,

Sojitz, AMCIQLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2013 4 11

Maules Creek Whitehaven NSW Gunnedah Basin New mine 2014 10.8 28

Metropolitan Peabody Energy NSW Southern coalfield Expansion 2015 1.5 4

Middlemount (stage 2)

Peabody Energy / YanCoal

QLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2018+ 3.6 10

Millennium Peabody Energy QLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2013 1.5 4

MinyangoGuangdong Rising

Assets Management QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2014 7.5 19

Moolarben (stage 2 ) Yancoal Australia NSW Western coalfields Expansion 2018+ 3 7

Moorlands Cuesta Coal Limited QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2016 2 5

Moranbah South project

Anglo Coal Australia / Exxaro

QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2018+ 12 32

Mount Pleasant Project Rio Tinto / Mitsubishi NSW Hunter New mine 2018+ 10.5 25

Mt Penny Cascade Coal NSW Hunter New mine 2018+ 5 12

Mt Thorley – Warkworth extension

Rio Tinto NSW Hunter Expansion 2018+ 0 0

New Acland (stage 3) New Hope Coal QLD Clarence-Moreton Basin Expansion 2016 2.7 6

New LentonNew Hope Coal,

MPCQLD Bowen Basin New mine 2016 5 14

Newlands Xstrata QLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2014 5 12

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North Surat – Collingwood Project

Cockatoo Coal QLD Surat Basin New mine 2015 6 14

Norwood Coal Mine MetroCoal QLD Surat Basin New mine 2017 6.5 16

NRE No. 1 CollieryGujarat NRE Coking

CoalNSW Southern coalfield Expansion 2014 3 8

Oaky Creek (phase 2)

Xstrata, Sumisho, Itochu, ICRA OC

QLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2018+ 5 14

Orion Downs Endocoal QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2014 2.5 6

Project China Stone MacMines Austasia QLD Galilee Basin New mine 2018+ 45 107

Ravensworth North (Stage 1)

Xstrata, Itochu NSW Hunter Expansion 2013 8 20

Rolleston (phase 1)

Xstrata, Sumisho, IRCA

QLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2014 3 7

Rolleston (phase 2)Xstrata, Sumisho,

IRCAQLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2018+ 3 7

SarumXstrata, Itochu, ICRA

NCA, SumishoQLD Bowen Basin New mine 2014 6.5 17

South Galilee Coal Project (3 phases)

Bandanna Energy QLD Galilee Basin New mine 2015 17 41

Springsure Creek (stage 1)

Bandanna Energy QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2015 5.5 13

Springsure Creek (stage 2)

Bandanna Energy QLD Bowen Basin Expansion 2018+ 5.5 13

Stratford Yancoal Australia NSW Gloucester Expansion 2014 2.6 7

StyxWaratah Coal,

Queensland NickelQLD Styx Basin New mine 2018+ 1.5 4

Talwood Coking Coal Project

Aquila Resources QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2016 3.6 9

TaroborahShenhuo

InternationalQLD Bowen Basin New mine 2015 2.3 6

Taroom Cockatoo Coal QLD Surat Basin New mine 2018+ 8 19

Tarrawonga Expansion Whitehaven NSW Gunnedah Basin Expansion 2018+ 1 3

Teresa Linc Energy QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2016 8 22

The Range Project Stanmore Coal QLD Surat Basin New mine 2016 5 12

Togara North Xstrata QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2017 6 14

Ulan West Xstrata, Mitsubishi NSW Western coalfields Expansion 2014 6.7 16

United Project Xstrata, CFMEU NSW Hunter Expansion 2015 4 11

Vermont East/Wilunga Peabody Energy QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2015 3 8

Vickery Whitehaven NSW Gunnedah Basin New mine 2014 4.5 11

Wallarah underground longwall

Korea Resources Corp / Sojitz Corp

NSW Newcastle coalfield New mine 2018+ 5 12

Wandoan opencut (phase 1)

Xstrata, Itochu, Sumisho Coal

QLD Surat Basin New mine 2015 22 53

Wards WellBHP Billiton

Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA)

QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2017 5 14

Washpool coal project Aquila Resources QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2018+ 2.6 7

Watermark Shenhua Energy NSW Gunnedah Basin New mine 2015 6.15 15

Wilkie Creek Peabody Energy QLD Surat Basin Expansion 2016 10 24

Winchester South Rio Tinto QLD Bowen Basin New mine 2016 4 10

Wongai Project Aust-Pac Capital QLD Cape York New mine 2018+ 1.5 4

Wongawilli CollieryGujarat NRE Coking

CoalNSW Southern coalfield Expansion 2016 3 8

Woori Cockatoo Coal QLD Surat Basin New mine 2016 4 10

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End Notes

1. Climate Commission. The Critical Decade 2013. June 2013. http://climatecommission.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/The-Critical-Decade-2013_medres_web.pdf

2. For the human toll of climate change, already estimated to be 300,000 people annually worldwide, see Global Humanitarian Forum Human Impact Report 2009 http://www.ghf-ge.org/human-impact-report.pdf. Studies have been undertaken in various countries of the health impacts and casualties from coal pollution, as one example, see Conservation Action Trust, Urban Emissions and Greenpeace Coal Kills: An Assessment of Death and Disease caused by India’s Dirtiest Energy Source. 2013. http://www.greenpeace.org/india/Global/india/report/Coal_Kills.pdf

3. Carbon Tracker Unburnable Carbon: Wasted Capital and Stranded Assets. June 2013. http://www.carbontracker.org/wastedcapital

4. IEA Special Report: Redrawing the Climate-Energy Map. June 2013.

5. IEA. World Energy Outlook 2011. Page 212.

6. Data in this table is drawn from the Bureau of Resource and Energy Economics (BREE) Resources and Energy Major Projects List. April 2013 with the addition of coal projects seeking planning approvals but not included in that list, and the exclusion of projects for which production levels are not specified. Projects without start dates provided by BREE have been given a start date of 2018+ and italicised.