The World’s Most Controversial Coal Mine Doesn’t Add Up.

Is the world’s most bitterly contested coal mine finally getting the go-ahead?

After the opposition Labor party suffered heavy losses in coal-mining regions in Saturday’s Australian federal elections, the Carmichael project looks to be getting closer than ever to approval. In the view of the government's resources minister Matt Canavan, the pit being developed by Adani Mining Pty., a unit of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s business empire, is all systems go:

Fired up! - in support of the Adani project.

There's a rarely discussed problem with this, though: The numbers on Carmichael don’t stack up – and haven't for most of the past decade, despite the mine becoming a high-profile proxy for broader fights over fossil fuels among politicians, lobbyists and environmentalists. (An Adani spokeswoman said our assumptions were incorrect, but didn't dispute any specific figures or provide alternative ones. "The Carmichael Project economics are strong and are projected to remain strong," she wrote.)

Read the Bloomberg story by David Fickling - “The World’s Most Controversial Coal Mine Doesn’t Add Up.”

Adani still has a long march ahead before its Carmichael coal mine opens.

The final approval for Adani's plans to develop a coal mine in Queensland's Galilee Basin looks likely to come well after the federal election, with a slew of state and federal hurdles to clear.

Not about to depart centre stage: An anti-Adani protester
about to be led away after interrupting Prime Minister Scott
Morrison's speech in Brisbane on Monday.

Supporters of the Carmichael mine were buoyed by Tuesday's announcement that federal Environment Minister Melissa Price had ticked off the mine's controversial groundwater plans.

The mine - intended to extract 15 million tonnes of coal a year in its first stage for a $2 billion outlay - was one major step closer to getting started, they hoped.

Read the story from The Age by Peter Hannam and Felicity Caldwell - “Adani still has a long march ahead before its Carmichael coal mine opens.”

Clive Palmer seeks approval for 'monster mine' next door to Adani

Clive Palmer has sought federal environmental approval for a huge greenfield coal mine in central Queensland, which documents suggest could produce 33 per cent more coal than Adani's controversial and delayed Carmichael mine.

Clive Palmer's proposed Alpha North mine relative
to Adani's controversial Carmichael mine in the
 Galilee Basin.

Its viability depends on the construction of the Carmichael mine, or another mine with a rail link to the coast, adding weight to claims the Adani project could open the floodgates to significantly more coal mining in the Galilee Basin.

Environmentalists have called for the Federal Government to reject the new application out-of-hand, without a full assessment.

They pointed to the impact the mine would potentially have on climate change, freshwater springs, the Great Artesian Basin and threatened species in the area including the black-throated finch and koalas.

Read the ABC News story by Michael Slezak - “Clive Palmer seeks approval for 'monster mine' next door to Adani.”

The Long Mining Boom - Matt Canavan

“Dubious” was the quality attributed to those attempting to slow and derail Queensland’s Adani coal mine by the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Matt Canavan, at today’s National Press Club.

Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Matt Canavan.

Those uncomfortable about today’s address, and Mr Canavan’s overall performance, would equally consider the efforts  and ideologies of the Minister equally dubious.

Today’s address was like a voice from the past and spelt out, not in discrete and specific terms, the reason why the world is facing hitherto unseen difficulties; difficulties that have arisen from our industrial world that is the way it is because of ideas and philosophies championed today by the Minister at the National Press Club.

Watch today's lecture at the press club by Mr Canavan - “The Long Mining Boom”. 

Aurizon to withdraw funding bid for rail project

Rail freight operator Aurizon will withdraw an application for funding to assist with a rail project that could have served the controversial Adani coal mine in Queensland's Galilee Basin.

Aurizon has withdrawn a bid for funding assistance. 

Supporters of the Aurizon proposal had hoped the rail line would help open the basin to new coal mines, after Adani's funding bid for its own rail line was vetoed by the Queensland government.

Aurizon had applied for a taxpayer-funded concessional loan under the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund, which is designed to boost investment in Northern Australia.

Aurizon’s managing director, Andrew Harding, said although the company was in discussion with several entities hoping to develop mines in the vast thermal coal basin, it had not progressed to “definitive contractual arrangements with any proponent”.

Read Darren Gray’s story in today’s Age - “Aurizon to withdraw funding bid for rail project.”

China will finance Adani mine, insiders say, but it will cost Australian jobs

The Adani Group is close to securing finance for its controversial coal mine and railway project in outback Queensland, with an announcement expected in coming weeks that Chinese state-owned enterprises, banks, and export credit agencies are backing the venture.

China's money could mean Adani no longer
needs a loan from the Australian Government.

Australian taxpayers may be let off the hook under the deal, which could mean Adani no longer requires an Australian Government-subsidised loan of up to $1 billion for the railway it needs to transport the coal to port.

But China's money will come at the cost of local jobs.

Chinese enterprises and export credit agencies invariably require that materials for key infrastructure are sourced from China, effectively shifting work out of Australia and undermining Adani's claims its project will create many thousands of additional jobs for Queensland.

Read the story by Stephen Long on ABC News - “China will finance Adani mine, insiders say, but it will cost Australian jobs.”

Adani: Thousands turn out across Australia to protest against Carmichael coal mine

A national day of action to oppose the proposed Carmichael coal mine has seen thousands of protesters turn out in locations across Australia.

A Stop Adani sign formed by people on Bondi Beach.

Rallies in locations including Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Port Douglas in North Queensland heard messages against Indian company Adani's proposed mine in the Galilee Basin.

Adani has promised thousands of local jobs but opponents say the project will fuel global warming and destroy the Great Barrier Reef.

The ABC's Four Corners program on Monday revealed alleged cases of bribery, corruption and environmentally destructive behaviour by the Adani Group in India.

Adani is seeking a $900-million loan from taxpayers so it can build the railway line from the proposed mine site in the Galilee Basin to the Abbot Point coal port.

Read the ABC News story - “Adani: Thousands turn out across Australia to protest against Carmichael coal mine.”

'Outrageous': Coal mine gets expansion nod despite secret, incomplete studies

Fitter David Crehan stands near a long
wall shearer at the Dendrobium mine 
 at Mount Kembla.

The Baird government has approved the expansion of the most aggressive coal mine in the Special Areas of Greater Sydney's catchment despite not knowing the compounding impact it will have on water supplies.

South32 won approval for two more 305 metre-wide longwalls at its Dendrobium mine, extracting coal from underneath the Metropolitan Special Area which was created to protect the waters of the Avon, Cataract, Cordeaux and Nepean reservoirs.

The company, which was spun out of BHP Billiton, hailed the go-ahead as securing as many as 400 jobs. The coking coal produced at the mine supplies a steel mill in nearby Wollongong and export markets.

Read Peter Hannam’s story in The Sydney Morning Herald - “'Outrageous': Coal mine gets expansion nod despite secret, incomplete studies.”

India announces plan to step away from coal, casting doubt on approved Queensland Adani mine

One expert says the plan has left the
 Adani proposal "totally stranded".

India has released a new power plan promoting a dramatic increase in renewable energy and raising doubts about the Indian-owned Adani Group's massive coal mine in Queensland.

The new national electricity plan says India will not need any additional coal-fired energy capacity in the next decade.

India's Energy Minister Piyush Goyal alluded to a renewables pivot when he spoke to Four Corners last year.

"I hope in the years to come we can see an explosion of renewable energy on the back of cheaper storage," Mr Goyal said.

Tim Buckley from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analytics told AM the development was bad news for the Australian coal industry. (But good news for the health of the world – Beneath the Wisteria).

Read the ABC story - “India announces plan to step away from coal, casting doubt on approved Queensland Adani mine.”