The EIS for the $1.7 billion Stanwell coke plant will be coordinated by the Department of State Development and Innovation and Queensland Coke & Energy, with the report due for completion by the end of May.
Queensland Coke & Energy parent company Macarthur Coal first announced plans to build the coke-making facility 25km south-west of Rockhampton in December 2004, after a year of feasibility studies. The company, which is involved in a number of coal mining operations and exploration joint ventures in nearby Bowen Basin, completed a final feasibility study on the plant earlier this year.
The plant is forecast to produce more than three million tonnes of high quality coking coal per year, converting vast reserves of PCI (pulverised coal injection) coal into a value-added product feeding Asia's steel market.
It is also expected to create 1200 construction jobs and 300 positions for long-term employees once constructed.
State development and innovation minister Tony McGrady said the plant would also produce 370MW of energy by channelling waste heat from the coking plant into energy reserves.
"This will reduce the amount of greenhouse gas discharged into the atmosphere," he said.
"The plant will enable Queensland coal to be converted to coke here in Queensland rather than being sent overseas for conversion.
"It will have the capacity to produce so much coke that it will give birth to a new export industry.
"The Stanwell project is a winner on all fronts - it uses Queensland coal to produce coke, a product for which there is high international demand, it will increase exports, create new jobs, boost the central Queensland economy and provide environmental benefits to boot."
