Cobbora Coal Mine gets Approval, But Future Still Uncertain

CANBERRA (Scrap Monster): The Cobbora Coal Mine future is still in an uncertain condition, despite the reception of Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) approval. Gabrielle Kibble AO, David Johnson and Paul Forward, the members of PAC attained a determination and issued a planning approval recommendation on May 9.

The commission noted that Cobbora, state owned proponent has no plan of activating the approval. Last year NSW Government determined to sell or lease the Cobbora project, when Mike Baird, then treasurer and present premier said the mine project would need more than $1.5 million for its development. The commission has also recognized that the $20 million transition funding cannot be enough for covering the impact of mine development delays in the local area.

The fund has been allotted for sharing between four council areas, but Warrumbungle Shire Council indicated that Dunedoo would be the badly affected and it should get the lion’s share of the fund. The Planning Assessment Commission said the fund would not effectively address the immediate economic impact in the area. The commission suggested that a socio-economic study must be conducted. The Coborra Coal Mine site is only 22 km from Dunedoo.

The commission also noted down that the mining effects would cause a wide range of impacts on terrestrial flora and fauna, which was listed under the Threatened Species Conservation Act and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and ground water dependant ecosystems. It also stated that light from the mining area would affect researches at Australian Astronomical Observatory near Coonabarabran.