New Acland coal mine overcomes final hurdle for expansion plan
The New Acland Mine has been given its final approval today, after a 15-year battle.
A water licence has been approved as part of the controversial stage three expansion of the coal mine.
Neil Breen said the news “came out of nowhere”.
“After all those years, and all the drama, 15 years in the making.”
Back in August, the state government gave the green light for the next stage of the mine’s expansion, by approving the mining leases.
General manager of the New Acland Mine, Dave O’Dwyer, said it was great news, but it will be a slower start than they would have liked.
“We went into care and maintenance last November, and we took our workforce down to 20 people so the 20 of us have been coming out here and basically keeping the lights on while we get through the last of these approvals.
“They have been ticking over the last few months.”
He predicts it will take a few months before the mine will be back up and running again.
Press PLAY below to hear his reaction in full
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