Meanwhile 100 mine workers have been reported to have hanged their shirts on a fence opposite a Hunter horse stud that has been blamed for preventing the Drayton South mine expansion.

“Both of these projects have received very strong support from the local Upper Hunter community over a sustained period, including over 10,000 submissions in support of the Drayton South project,” NSWMC said.

“Both of these important projects should have been approved.”

The NSWMC said that while final approval from the PAC for the expansion of Mount Thorley Warkworth mine is welcome news for the mine’s 1,300 mining workers and their families, it was a “bittersweet day for the mining communities of the Hunter”

“This decision will secure these direct mining jobs, as well as thousands of other jobs in related industries and businesses across the region,” it said.

“However, the recommendation today by the Planning Assessment Commission that Anglo American’s Drayton South Mine not be approved is a devastating blow for hundreds of workers at the project and their families leading into Christmas.”