Centennial placed Mannering on “care and maintenance” in January 2013. In October 2013, Centennial entered into a production sharing arrangement with LDO’s Chain Valley colliery.
The Department of Planning and Environment said it will be hearing community’s views on the applications, which seek to increase the rate of coal handling and dispatch at Mannering from 1.1 million tonnes per annum to 1.3Mtpa.
The application is also seeking to increase the rate of coal extraction at Chain Valley from 1.5Mtpa to 2.1Mtpa and extend the completion date of Mannering by four years to 2022.
It proposes to increase staff at Chain Valley by 60 to around 220 people and change the design of Chain Valley’s northern mining area and clear minor amounts of vegetation to protect infrastructure from bushfires.
A department spokesperson said the local community is encouraged to share its views.
“Community consultation is an integral part of the planning process and the applicant will have to respond to the feedback we receive and this is taken into consideration when we develop our recommendations,” the spokesperson said.
