“Muswellbrook is the only town of its size in Australia to be completely encircled by coal mines except for the road, rail and river corridors,” the council said as part of its submission on the project changes.
Xstrata acquired the project from Centennial Coal in October 2007 and inherited the mine development plans that had been approved four months earlier.
After an internal review, Xstrata applied for state government consent to modify the development plan in August last year.
One of the main changes was to relocate a 500-kilovolt transmission line away from the interior of the project area to the northern and western boundaries.
Xstrata sought to expand the total project area to include an additional 8.4 hectares where coal was “known to be close to the surface”
The production schedule was also intensified with Xstrata planning to mine at a more hectic pace of up to 10.5 million tonnes per annum for 15 years, while Centennial had planned to mine at up to this rate over 21 years.
As part of its 26-page submission, the council said the potential cumulative impact from the additional mining included “likely” significant strains on health services, additional strains on existing childcare facilities and pressures on primary education services.
The council was strongly concerned with possible effects on roads, either caused by increased traffic, road closures during blasting, or additional damage to their condition.
In addition to calling for various compensatory measures, which also covered areas such as noise and dust management, the council delved into the wider economic impact of the coal mining boom in the region.
Citing anecdotal evidence from a 2008 study funded by the Australian Coal Association Research Program which explored the cumulative impact of mining at Muswellbrook, the council said the town’s position on the relative wealth index had dropped relative to local government areas without significant mining over the past 15 years.
“Limited labour supply and high demand for labour has increased the price of labour which, in turn, appears to have flowed into prices more generally,” the council said.
“The unpopular reality is that the labour market is probably over-heated in the sub-region – something which is every bit as burdensome as a labour market which suffers a lack of demand.
“Labour is an important input in production. A high labour price contributes to higher prices more generally. This is problematic in a community with a 50 per cent higher proportion of people on fixed incomes – many of whom rent from the Department of Housing.”
Meanwhile, pre-stripping operations started a few months ago at Mangoola.
Last month an Xstrata rail fleet moved on to the newly built rail loop in preparation for the commissioning of the coal handling and preparation plant, according to the Mangoola Coal website.
The mine will produce thermal coal for export and domestic markets for a mine life of at least 18 years.
While the NSW Department of Planning approved the night-time works modification for Mangoola last year, the modified mine plan is not yet at the assessment stage.
Xstrata is reviewing the submissions on the project.
