The Wandoan Coal Project is a proposed open-cut thermal coal mine immediately west of the Wandoan township.
The mining lease application area covers approximately 32,000 hectares. The proposed mine would include an open-cut coal mine, a coal handling and preparation plant, and support facilities.
With an expected life of more than 30 years, the proposed mine would produce thermal coal that would be exported around the world or sold to the domestic market. It is anticipated that around 30 million run-of-mine tonnes of coal would be mined at Wandoan annually.
Xstrata Coal'sWandoan Coal Project received environmental approval from the Queensland Government in accordance with the conditions in the Coordinator-General’s Report for the Project in November 2010.
The Wandoan Coal Project received conditional environmental approval from the Federal Government in March 2011. The environmental approval follows consideration of the project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Supplementary EIS, and the Queensland Coordinator-General’s report for the Wandoan Coal Project by the Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. The approval is a significant milestone for the development of the Project, and it allows Xstrata Coal to proceed with the final stage of the mining lease application.