Millennium expansion project
The proponent for the Millennium Expansion Project (MEP) is Millennium Coal Pty Limited (MCPL), a subsidiary of Peabody Energy Australia Pty Limited. The project is located in the Bowen Basin 22 kilometres (km) east of Moranbah and 16 km south-west of Coppabella. The MEP proposal is located within Mining Lease (ML) 70313, ML Application 70401 and Mineral Development Licence (MDL) 136.
The department granted approval for a voluntary environmental impact statement (EIS) process for the project. The department’s assessment of the project followed the EIS process set out in part 1 of chapter 3 of the Environmental Protection Act 1994.
The proposed expansion project includes increasing production of the current open-cut, hard coking coal Millennium mine from 1.9 million tonnes per year (Mt/y) run-of-mine (ROM) coal to 5.5 Mt/y. This will produce up to 3.6 Mt/y of product coal for export. The expansion would extend the current mine life by approximately 17 years from the grant of environmental approvals.
The MEP proposes to continue the existing open-cut truck and excavator terrace mining methods, although the use of electric shovels and/or a dragline may be considered at a later stage. An upgrade to the current high voltage power supply may be required if electrically powered mining equipment is introduced. Process water would be collected on-site from the West Dam catchment and sourced from the Burdekin Dam via the Burdekin Pipeline. Coal processing including crushing, sizing and washing would occur at the currently utilised off-site facility at the Red Mountain Joint Venture immediately adjacent to the MEP. The size of the current ROM and product stockpile areas will be increased to meet the additional throughput. Product coal will be railed to the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal for export to international markets.
This project was determined to be a controlled action under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The controlling provisions related to listed threatened species and communities. The EIS Assessment Report contains an assessment of the significance of impacts of the action on the controlling provisions. A copy of the EIS assessment report has been given to the Commonwealth Environment Minister, who will decide whether to approve or refuse the controlled action under Part 9 of the EPBC Act.
The EIS Assessment Report for the MEP has been issued to the proponent and the EIS process is now completed.
Before the project can proceed, the proponent will require a relevant environmental authority for the project.
Publicly available documents:
- Final terms of reference (see availability)
- Initial advice statement describing the project (see availability)
- EIS Assessment Report
- EIS Assessment Report - Appendix 1
For further information about the EIS process for the Millennium Expansion Project, contact the EIS Coordinator.
Available from the library catalogue
The documents referred to on this page are available from the department’s online library catalogue.