Without involving landholders in the region, the legal challenge was only brought forward by anti-mining activists.
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The state government, which wants new mines to be developed in the untapped Galilee Basin to promote jobs, has yet to issue a mining permit for the Alpha project, but has said it would be subject to existing water management rules.
“It has been a long drawn out process and it has been disappointing how a handful of anti-mining activists have been able to delay thousands of jobs for Queenslanders”, Mr Euler said.
On the other hand, Australia’s Federal court had earlier overturned government environmental approval for the $16-billion Carmichael coal mine under construction in Australia.
This is a great day for Queensland as the company can now get on with taking the next step towards creating thousands of jobs for the region and State.
“We really have invested tens of millions of dollars on environmental assessments in relation to a broad range of environmental impacts including groundwater”, he said outside the court.
“We are extremely confident about what we can do in terms of groundwater to limit our impacts”, he said.
“Those agreements hold us legally liable should we impact the ground water”, he said.
Today the court said the application by Coast and Country was premature, as the Land Court decision was merely a recommendation.
One of the three farmers, Bruce Currie said outside court the ruling was a blow, but it on’t stop Queensland graziers standing firm against the mine.
An EDO spokesman defended the appeal, saying the court decision should not detract from the tough restrictions ordered by the Land Court in relation to the project.
The Queensland Supreme Court on Friday rejected that challenge with Justice James Douglas also ordering the farmers to pay GVK’s legal costs. “If this mine goes ahead, it risks draining away the groundwater that our lives and businesses depend on”, Currie told reporters outside the court in Brisbane.
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In 2011, 125,000 tonnes of coal was extracted from a test pit on the Alpha Coal Project site and sent for test burns in Asia, which verified the coal quality as containing the high quality attributes that Asian power generators are looking for, including low ash and low sulphur. “The make-good agreement I was given doesn’t protect us”.
