Drake coal project
Project summary
Drake Coal Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of QCoal Pty Ltd) is the proponent for a new open-cut coal mine to be known as the Drake Coal Project. The proposed project would be located 150km north-west of Mackay and 17km south of Collinsville, in the Whitsunday Regional Council local government area, in the northern Bowen Basin, Central Queensland. The proposed project would be situated adjacent to the Bowen River, within proposed mining leases (ML) 10349, ML10350 and ML10351 located on Lot 618 on PH2106 and Lot 9 on DK239.
The mine would operate seven days per week and use conventional open-cut truck and excavator methods to produce up to 10 million tonnes of run-of-mine (ROM) coal per year for up to 26 years. The mine would produce up to 6 million tonnes per year of high quality coking coal and thermal coal for export markets via the Abbot Point Coal Terminal, near Bowen. The mine would also include a coal handling and preparation plant and a train load-out facility and balloon rail loop connecting the project to the Collinsville-Newlands rail line. Site access would be via the Bowen Developmental Road.
The proponent applied to undertake a voluntary environmental impact statement (EIS) under Chapter 3, Part 1 of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act), which was accepted on 9 April 2010.
The Drake Coal Project has been determined by the Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities to be a controlled action under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The controlling provisions are Sections 18 and 18A (listed threatened species and communities) and Sections 20 and 20A (listed migratory species). The assessment of the project has been completed under the Bilateral Agreement.
Assessment of adequacy of response to submissions
The process for the assessment of the project was as follows:
- Submission of draft TOR
- Public notification of draft TOR
- Final TOR issued—EIS in preparation
- Public notification of EIS
- Proponent responds to submissions
- EIS assessment report
The EIS Assessemnt Report was issued to QCoal Pty Ltd on 10 September 2013 in accordance with section 60 of the EP Act. The EIS process under Chapter 3, Part 1 of the EP Act is now completed.
Further information
Copies of publicly available documents can be obtained by accessing the links below:
For further information about the EIS process for the Drake Coal Project, contact the EIS Co-ordinator or email eis@des.qld.gov.au. Information about the Commonwealth EIS process is also available.