The NSWMC 2006 Environment and Community Conference “Face Up 2006” will be held September 10-12 at the Novotel Northbeach, Wollongong.

More than 230 delegates will attend the event, a 25% increase on last year.

“This reflects the industry’s commitment to its environmental responsibilities and the communities in which it operates, as well as the importance of the event in promoting best practice and strategies to manage key issues facing the industry,” the council said.

Among the speakers will be Mark Levey presenting on the Mandalong longwall, located in the Lake Macquarie area near Morisset.

The mine extends underneath the Mandalong Valley, which consists of sensitive surface features including rural residential properties, agricultural businesses, a wide flood plain and the foot slopes of the Watagan Ranges.

When Centennial purchased Mandalong in 2002, it was a project with development consent, but had not yet commenced. An extensive consultation process with the local community in relation to the original mine plan revealed a high level of concern from landowners, particularly in relation to potential subsidence impacts on houses and flood characteristics.

Mark Levey will tell delegates at next week’s conference how the company reviewed the mine project to determine if changes in the mine design could achieve a sustainable and balanced outcome for the company, community and environment. The redesign resulted in predicted vertical subsidence levels and flood hazards being significantly decreased.

United Collieries’ Mary-Anne Murray will speak on how the mine has implemented Xstrata’s Greenhouse Policy.

In early 2006 Xstrata Coal released its Greenhouse Policy and entered into a cooperative agreement under Greenhouse Challenge Plus with the Federal Government.

Through this program and the NSW Government’s Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme, Xstrata Coal has committed to abating over 350,000 tonnes of methane from underground operations.

United has launched a gas flaring program, which gives the mine the capacity to consume up to 200 litres per second of gas extracted from the goaf, abating over 125,000t of CO2 equivalent per year.

Murray will speak about Xstrata’s voluntary election to GGAS, and the development of the gas flaring project.

Xstrata Coal’s Tony Egan will discuss the process to align the needs of both the State and Federal governments’ energy programs whilst seeking to integrate energy management as part of the day-to-day business activities.

Egan will highlight the need to focus on ownership and understanding at a site leadership level whilst maintaining the necessary group-wide rigour to provide a valid business benefit and enable the legislative aspects to be met or exceeded.

Other speakers will include the NSW Natural Resources Commission’s Dr John Williams; HLA-Envirosciences principal engineer Alex Horn; CSIRO senior social researcher Peta Ashworth; Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry director Professor Chris Moran; Indigenous Employment Research project manager Tony Tiplady from the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining; and Sparke Helmore Lawyers senior associate Carlo Zoppo.