Waratah has plans for huge coal project

A Queensland mining company says it wants to build Australia's largest coal project,
which would generate 6,000 jobs and about $4 billion in annual exports.
If allowed to go ahead the project, in Queensland's Galilee Basin, would produce 40
million tonnes per annum (mta).
Waratah Coal, wholly owned by the private company Mineralogy, is seeking to raise
$7.5 billion for the project, which it hopes to begin producing coal in 2013.
Waratah chief executive Peter Lynch said the largest thermal coal operations in
Australia currently produce about 16mta to 18mta.
Mr Lynch said he expected approvals for the mine to be completed in 2010 and for
work on the project to begin later that year, subject to getting finance.
"We have called it the China First Project and we have been going to China (for
funding)," Mr Lynch said.
"I guess what you need to do is watch this space and see what happens," he said.
He said coal from the area was low-sulphur and 95 per cent of the benchmark energy
level.
As part of the plans a 490km standard gauge rail line would be built and a stockyard.
Waratah estimates more than 6,000 workers would be needed during construction and a
permanent workforce of 1,500 would be required once the mine was operational.
General manager with AME Mineral Economics, Michael Dixon, said the project would be
comparable in scale to Indonesia's Kaltim Prima mine.
"It is a very large project. It would be one of the largest thermal coal export
mines in the world," Mr Dixon said.
"I would just caution that there is a long way to go before you see long trains full
of coal going to the port to be exported," he said.