The modification has been requested to reflect the local employment policies of the company, which have increased the percentage of employees who live in local communities rather than in project specific workforce accommodation facilities, the Department of Planning said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Planning and Environment said the local community always has an opportunity to share their views.

“Community consultation is an integral part of the planning process and the applicant will have to respond to the feedback we receive,” the spokesperson said.

“This feedback is taken into consideration when we develop our recommendations.”

The combination of lower FOB costs and Whitehaven Coal’s capex after its Maules Creek project capital expenditure program is completed is expected to support further reductions in net debt in FY2016 and beyond, the company said in its March quarterly report.

Whitehaven, which achieved record high ROM coal production of 5.7 million tonnes for the March quarter, ramped up production at its Maules Creek mine to 2Mt in the quarter.

Maules Creek’s next ramp up stage to 10.5Mtpa begins in January 2017.

Whitehaven confirmed full year production guidance for Maules Creek to be about 7.6Mt ROM coal and 7.4Mt saleable coal.

Mining equipment to support the ramp up profile to an annualised rate of 10.5Mtpa has been ordered and is expected to arrive progressively onsite in H1 FY2017 and be operational during January 2017.