On December 21, Australian mining giant Rio Tinto's coal producer subsidiary Coal & Allied welcomed the decision by Australia's New South Wales government to grant a mining lease for the company's Mount Pleasant project.
The mining lease is another step towards a decision to build the Mount Pleasant project, a greenfield open cut coal mine which would provide significant ongoing investment in the Upper Hunter Valley in New South Wales.
"The Mount Pleasant Project will create around 700 jobs during construction and 300 jobs during operation, and we will target local people for these roles wherever possible," said Coal & Allied general manager studies Antony Bijok.
"First production is planned in 2014, gradually ramping up to our consented run-of-mine production rate of 10.5 million tonnes of thermal coal per year for international markets," Bijok added.
Coal & Allied has held a development consent for the Mount Pleasant Project since 1999 following an assessment by a Commission of Inquiry, the company said, adding that uncertainty surrounding ports infrastructure had delayed the application for a mining lease until now.
This year Coal & Allied announced it will pursue all remaining approvals and consents needed following the breakthrough long-term framework agreement reached for the Port of Newcastle.