THE PAC hearing into the Drayton South Coal Project will converge on Denman in just under a fortnight with the war of words over the NSW Government’s support of the project erupting across the Valley.
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In a statement provided to the Muswellbrook Chronicle at 13.26pm on Tuesday the NSW Department of Planning said it had provided its preliminary recommendation to the Planning Assessment Commission for review.
The statement went on to say the preliminary recommendation is that the revised [Drayton South] mine plan is far enough from the nearby horse studs that it can be approved subject to strict conditions especially around dust and noise.
Anglo American’s Drayton South project director, Rick Fairhurst, issued a press release at 7.22am earlier that day saying, in part, Anglo American looked forward to the upcoming PAC hearing in Denman.
“Anglo American and our 500-strong workforce at the existing Drayton operation are pleased with the clear signal the DPE has sent the Planning Assessment Commission (PAC)," he said.
The Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association issued its comments, in part, at 2.45pm.
“Each and every reason the previous mine was refused remains valid today [and] once damage to the studs occurs, studs which are the epi-centre of our entire industry, it will be irreversible,” said the HTBA’s Dr Cameron Collins.
While the parties at the centre of the storm continue to mount their arguments, one submission opposing the project has raised serious concerns about the future of seaborne coal, suggesting it is in structural decline.
Analyst Tim Buckley, from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, wrote the Drayton South mine model requires the assumption that thermal coal prices will experience a “sustained uplift after the 60 per cent decline in the last five years.”
“China’s coal imports have declined 38 per cent year-to-May 2015 [and] China is the world’s largest import market for coal.
“India has also slashed its coal imports in July 2015 by eight per cent,” Mr Buckley told the Chronicle.
Tim Buckley said his role is to evaluate the global electricity markets and the implications for Australia and the implications for the Australian coal industry, particularly the coal export markets.
“The analysis I have done says seaborne coal is in structural decline and therefore the whole idea Australia should be approving new mines and adding to supply at a time of over-supply, to me, is contrary to our national interest,” he said.
In a release issued by the NSW Minerals Council at 7.32am on Thursday, the Council maintained its buoyancy on coal.
“Despite a fall in coal volumes to China over the last financial year, China’s share of NSW coal exports has grown from just one per cent in 2007–08 to 18 per cent in 2014-15.
“This ongoing global demand and the growth of new export markets indicates solid long-term prospects for our state’s coal sector,” Mr Galilee said.
