Dingo West Coal Mine Project
- Project summary
- Queensland environmental impact statement (EIS) process
- Commonwealth assessment process
- Public notification of draft terms of reference (TOR)
- Further information
Project summary
The proponent for the Dingo West Coal Mine Project (the project) is Dingo West Coal Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandanna Energy Limited.
The proponent seeks to develop and operate a new open-cut coal mine in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland. The project is situated approximately 6 km west of Dingo and 120 km east of Emerald and will encompass mining lease application (MLA) 80180, which has a size of 4649.7 ha.
The project proposes to mine an estimated coal resource of 91.1 million tonnes with a projected production of up to 1.4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of run-of-mine (ROM) coal and approximately 1.0 mtpa of product coal over a 30-year period. The coal is expected to be pulverised coal injection (PCI) coal and high energy thermal coal and would be exported to international markets.
The project would consist of:
- site access and haul roads
- a rail loop and train loading facilities
- an enclosed conveyor located over the Capricorn Highway
- ROM and product coal stockpiles
- a coal handling and preparation plant
- a mine infrastructure area including administration buildings, storage areas and workshops
- a co-disposal area for rejects and tailings
- various sediment, raw water, mine water and tailings dams
- flood protection levees
- surface water management systems
- three open pits
- a package potable water treatment plant
- a sewage treatment plant
- an accommodation camp designed to house a maximum of 220 people during construction and 120 people during operation.
The preferred mining method would be blasting of overburden and interburden. Overburden, interburden and coal would be removed using a combination of shovels, excavators, frontend loaders and trucks. Overburden and interburden would initially be used for construction activities and backfilling of pits and would eventually be stored in an out-of-pit spoil dump. The project proposes the progressive rehabilitation of disturbed areas following mining activities.
Anticipated environmental impacts of the project would include loss of vegetation and habitat, loss of good quality agricultural land suitable for grazing (class C2) and groundwater impacts through mine dewatering.
An initial advice statement providing more detail of the project and its potential environmental impacts is accessible through the link at the bottom of this page.
Queensland environmental impact statement (EIS) process
Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Queensland)
On 27 July 2011, an application was made by the proponent for an environmental authority in relation to MLA 80180. The former Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) decided on 4 October 2011 that the application was to be assessed as a non-code compliant level 1 mining project subject to an environmental impact statement (EIS) under the Environmental Protection Act 1994.
Commonwealth assessment process
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth)
The proposed activities for this project were referred (EPBC 2011/5775) to the Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, who decided that the proposed project is not a controlled action under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Public notification of draft terms of reference (TOR)
The process for the assessment of this project is as follows:
In accordance with section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1994, the department’s chief executive has prepared the final TOR for carrying out an EIS for the project. The proponent may submit an EIS to the department’s chief executive within two years or any longer period decided by the department’s chief executive.
Further information
Copies of publicly available documents can be obtained by accessing the links below:
- Final terms of reference (PDF, 810K)*
- Initial advice statement describing the project (PDF, 14M)*
- Public notice (s46 EP Act) (PDF, 225K)*
For further information regarding the EIS process for this project, please contact the EIS coordinator or email <eis@derm.qld.gov.au>.
* Requires Adobe Reader
Last updated 16 April 2012