Adani refuses to commit to size of ‘scaled-down’ Carmichael coalmine – by Ben Smee (The Guardian – May 7, 2019)

https://www.theguardian.com/

Adani has refused to commit to the size of its “scaled-down” Carmichael coal project and is still pursuing final approvals based on plans for a 60m-tonne megamine in central Queensland.

The Queensland government has confirmed that while Adani announced last year it intended to build a much smaller mine, the Indian company has filed no formal plans on that basis. Instead, the state is assessing Adani’s key environmental management plans on the assumption the project would produce up to 60m tonnes of coal a year.

When the company’s groundwater plan was assessed by the federal government, the CSIRO and Geoscience Australia provided expert advice that recommended Adani commit to a particular mine plan, or to producing a set amount of coal.

In response Adani said it would “not [commit] to a scaled-down mine plan” and instead provided a map with little detail, showing a different mine footprint to approved plans.

When asked by Guardian Australia whether Adani would rule out eventually expanding the mine to 60m tonnes a year (MTPA), in line with its approvals, the company did not answer the question.

For the rest of this article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/07/adani-refuses-to-commit-to-size-of-scaled-down-carmichael-coalmine