“While the ‘fly- in fly-out’ protestors – funded by major offshore activists groups – have generated a fair amount of noise, Whitehaven has worked assiduously to involve the local townships of Narrabri, Gunnedah and Boggabri in this project,” he said at the annual general meeting yesterday.

He said the early delivery of the project, with first coal to be railed two months early in January, represented a milestone that few construction projects have been able to achieve.

“All of this is despite the efforts of protestors and anti-coal zealots,” Vaile said.

“The achievement reflects well on the Tier 1 executive and management team we have assembled, which is clearly capable of establishing Whitehaven as a global industry leader.

“Capable of producing 12 million tonnes per annum of coal over 30 years, the Maules Creek mine confers a scale on Whitehaven that few of our peers in Australia could hope for.

“Moreover, it will be producing exactly the type of high-energy coal low in impurities that our international customers are now specifying.

“It is increasingly obvious from the contact the board and senior management have had with our Asian markets that the global shift to cleaner, more efficient coal is underway and irreversible.”

Vaile said Whitehaven would be one of Australia’s largest and lowest cost producers of high quality coal within a few years.

“Australian exports are estimated to rise to 437 Mt by FY2019, up from 336 Mt in FY2013, and prices are forecast to have recovered significantly from present levels over this period.

“As a 23 Mt per annum producer, with pre-approvals in place at Vickery [project] to expand to an additional 5Mtpa if required, Whitehaven is ideally placed to participate in this growth.”