Mining giant Glencore has been granted the first mining leases for its major Wandoan thermal coal project in the Surat Basin in the Australian state of Queensland, the state government said.
When operational, the new mine could produce up to 22 million mt of high-quality thermal coal a year, it said.
"This would be the first major coal project of this scale in the Surat Basin, and still requires a rail link to the Port of Gladstone for export," the Queensland government said.
The grant includes three 27-year leases over 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) for Stage 1 of the proposed A$7 billion project, it added.
"We have been transparent with governments and the community since 2013, when the project was placed on hold, that we will continue to assess the project's timing against the global coal market," Glencore said.
"Glencore is taking a responsible approach and will only bring on new large scale production volumes if we are confident that market conditions support such a development.
"Adding significant new tonnes to the market at this time could adversely impact the profitability of existing thermal coal production, potentially putting jobs at risk as the market adjusts downwards as a result of oversupply," it added.
