In a statement released on Thursday, Mr Hunt said the mine development had been approved “subject to 36 of the strictest conditions in Australian history”.
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Adani Enterprises has faced numerous hurdles for the open-cut and underground coal mine, possibly Australia’s largest, with the approvals process so far stretching to five years.
“Minister Hunt is sacrificing threatened species such as the Black Throated Finch and precious ground water resources for the sake of a mine that simply does not stack up economically”, Ellen Roberts, co-ordinator of the Mackay Conservation Group, said on Thursday.
“These measures must be approved by myself before mining can start”, he added, noting that he had the power to suspend or revoke the approval and impose penalties if there was a breach of conditions.
The initial approval to the Carmichael mine was challenged in the federal court by Mackay Conservation Group, which successfully argued that minister Hunt had ignored his own department’s advice about the mine’s impact on two vulnerable species, the yakka skink and the ornamental snake.
“The Carmichael mine and North Galilee Basin Rail lie at the heart of Adani’s plans to build a long-term future with Queensland”, an Adani spokesman said.
Mr Hunt said he visited the site with the previous chair of the IESC and “fully incorporated her suggestions in the approval conditions”.
The decision by Environment Minister Greg Hunt opens the way for Adani to proceed with the A$10 billion ($7 billion) project in the undeveloped Galilee Basin that promises to generate billions of dollars in export revenue for Australia.
Adani stressed that what was required for companies planning major job creating and infrastructure generating projects in Australia is certainty on approvals.
Adani Mining Pty, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Group, is developing the coal mine with a yield of 60 million tonnes per annum and a 189km railway line.
“It’s a large project for Adani and any progress is taken as a big positive by the investors”, said Paras Bothra, vice president of equity research at Ashika Stock Broking Ltd.in Mumbai.
Australia’s indigenous people Wangan and Jagalingou, traditional owners of the land proposed to host Adani Group’s $12 billion mining project, had sought an urgent intervention from the United Nations (UN) to stop the proposed development of the massive Carmicheal coalmine.
Mr Hunt said there were no plans to dump the tougher laws, despite the ascension of Malcolm Turnbull to prime minister.
Not surprisingly, environmental groups criticised the federal government’s new approval for the Carmichael mine saying it would put the Great Barrier Reef at risk.
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The mine would be the biggest in Australian and one of the biggest in the world, requiring a mega port along the Great Barrier Reef coastline and contributing to global warming.
