In regards to claims that weak global coal prices have made the Galilee Basin thermal coal project uneconomic, CQU resource economist John Rolfe told CQ News that Adani would likely advance the project because it had a ready market.

"The Carmichael project is at odds with the current trends in coal prices but the difference is that Adani is an electricity power generator in India and they (India) are looking for very long-term security of their coal supplies,” Rolfe reportedly said.

"Adani are not quite as concerned about the current market price because they essentially have their own buyer for the coal.

"Adani are yet to make the final commitment to the project but if it goes ahead it would increase coal production in Queensland by about 24% and coal sector employment about 13% on 2013 levels."

The 60 million tonne per annum-targeting Carmichael project in the unexploited Galilee Basin received its conditional federal environmental approval on Monday after a green tape journey of more than 3.5 years.

Mining will involve the development of six open pits and five underground mines over 60 years, with the first surface operation planned for 2016 with a production rate of 5.5Mtpa.

Initial longwall production from the first underground mine is expected to reach 2.5Mtpa run of mine in 2018.

Under a vertically integrated commercialisation model, coal from Adani’s proposed mine will be hauled on a proposed 388km-long rail line it will share with Posco Steel through to the Abbot Point coal terminal, which Adani owns.

Adani will then ship the coal to India where it arrives at an Adani-owned port and is then hauled on Adani-owned rail to an Adani-owned coal-fired power station, where the resulting electricity is retailed by Adani to provide power for up to 100 million people.