The New South Wales Government and the China Shenhua Energy Company have reached a $100 million agreement to effectively cancel the company’s project and prohibit future mining on the site.
Shenhua will now withdraw its mining lease application and surrender its development consent for the Shenhua Watermark Coal project.
North West Farmers have been battling the proposed coal mine in the Liverpool Plains for more than a decade.
The controversial project is located approximately 25km south-east of the town of Gunnedah.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro today said the NSW Government will cancel Exploration Licence 7223, releasing Shenhua from its obligations under the exploration licence.
“The NSW Government is committed to making NSW the number one investment destination for mining in Australia, but we need to find a balance, and this decision will deliver certainty to farmers and the Liverpool Plains community, while guaranteeing protection to parcels of land with high value biodiversity,” Mr Barilaro said.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the government needs to protect prime agricultural land.
“The cancellation of this project will mean that no open cut coal mining can occur in the area,” Mr Perrottet said.
“Coal will of course continue to be an important part of our economy and is essential to supporting jobs, and the NSW Government continues to support coal exploration in areas where it makes sense.”
The agreement includes;
- Certainty for local landholders and communities
- Prime agricultural farmland to be preserved through the relinquishment of the Shenhua Watermark development consent and exploration licence, and the prohibition of future coal mining projects on this site
- The acquisition of more than 6,000 hectares of high biodiversity land to be managed by Local Land Services including the protection of habitat for koalas and other endangered species
- Protecting significant Indigenous cultural sites and artefacts
- Ensuring that water that would have been taken by the mine can continue to be used for agriculture and other productive uses
