HVO South Open Cut Coal Continuation Project

I support the ongoing mining of coal at HVO as this injects much needed funds into the community as well as state. Without the continued mining of coal we will be faced with a reduction in manufacturing as coal plays a vital ingredient. There currently is no sustainable alternative for24 hour production of electricity.
If the project does not go ahead there will be 1500 people directly affected with job losses and thousands of people indirectly affected, those small businesses that rely on the mining industry to survive will shrivel up and their employees will be unemployed.
Therefore i support the continuation of hunter valley mine

I support this project as I believe it is in the best interest to the local communities.
This project is using and existing mine which has been operating successfully for 70 years. This project will just allow the mine to continue at the current level. To continue to employee over 1500 people aswell as many local businesses that depend on HVO. And supporting the country through the taxes and royalties. I see this project as a good project in the right area.

It’s great for the economy and creates lots of job opportunities

HVO is a major employer in the Hunter Valley, not only directly at the mine but also in the broader community with thousands of jobs related to the mine.
HVO takes the environment and community very seriously and will change its mining practices to suit the conditions and look after our neighbours.
The mine also supports local community groups in Singleton and Jerry's Plains, I feel the continuation of mining at HVO will not only provide clean coal for the future it will also continue to boost not only the local community but the state of NSW.

I support the project

I am personally all for the continuation project, with HVO supporting the local community and providing many jobs for locals I can’t see any problems with this proposal going ahead and I wish the company all the best with their future plans for the mine and the community.

I support the continuation project

The continuation project for Hunter Valley Operations South will provide a valuable source of employment for local people, as well as providing continued income for local businesses. Environmental impact will be negligible - consistent with the current levels of impact (or decreased) from the operation.
I am a local resident and I provide my support for this project.

I support the project

I am in full support of this continuation project.

I support this projects as I am I favour of continuing mining in the hunter valley that provide over 1million in direct and indirect jobs for the local community including me and my partners work. Local mines also support the community and local schools and organisations and not to mention rehabilitate (as I have seen first hand in my 23 years in mining ) the areas they have finished mining .

I think it is essential for any of our hunter valley mines to stay open especially when we are a mining community it is beneficial to the community. Mining will play a major part in our future wether some people like it or not . We might as well allow a mine to continue then have to open a new one , and with this operation not even extending its mining boundaries this is a perfect opportunity to secure mining in the Hunter valley long into the future.

This business needs to stay operational for the benefit of everyday living

I support the approval of this project, the mine is existing and with the approval of this expansion the operations will continue to provide economic and community support whilst meeting world market demand for current demand of coal .I have had both personal and business relationship with this site which has provided employment and growth of my small business.

Sir / Madam,
The continuation of Hunter Valley Operations mine is important to my family which includes three
children, two who are at school and the youngest is 1 months of age.
My salaried employment from Hunter Valley Operations facilitates me to provide a good standard of
living and education for my children which I hope to be able to maintain following graduation from
The University of Newcastle in 2009.
While there is an ongoing focus on environmental impacts there does need to be the right balance
struck between economic, social and environmental impacts, which I believe the submission from
Hunter Valley Operations JV clearly articulates. Hunter Valley Operations contributes tens of millions
each year through royalty payments to the State Government; provides a significant regional
contribution through jobs and expenditures on good & supplies; and make direct community
contributions to many local bodies including local children sports clubs.
Recently, Hunter Valley Operations provided children’s toys and Christmas hampers to Singleton,
Muswellbrook and Dubbo community outreach programs. Hunter Valley Operations continuing local
charity and community support through our Workplace Giving, sponsorship and community grants
program is a credit to our operation.
The energy needs of developing Asia are enormous, the improvement of which comes from cost
competitive and reliable base load electricity. Secondly, infrastructure development, requiring steel
and cement is contingent upon the supply of raw materials, thermal and semi soft coal being a
primary input. As a Mechanical Engineer, I am fortunate to have a technical understanding of
manufacturing, construction and maintenance of infrastructure throughout its life cycle.
Modern cities would not function without steel, cement, aluminium, glass and of course
synchronous power. Coal, gas, nuclear and hydroelectric power plants are capable of supplying
synchronous power which modern devices require (air-conditioners, fridges, lighting circuits etc.).
Glencore who manages Hunter Valley Operations sets very high standards for safety and
environmental management, for example, real time monitoring of noise and dust which trigger
immediate alarms should conditions be approached. The arguments around health impacts can be
quite emotive and it is important that the facts be established particularly through NSW Health and
other expert bodies. It is my understanding that air quality in the Hunter Valley is in fact better that
Western Sydney. Mineworkers at Hunter Valley Operations are monitored for exposure through Coal
Services, exceedances are exceptionally rare and well managed, in which I play a part.
Greenhouse emissions are a global issue with Nations participating through Kyoto and Paris
agreement commitments. These should not be targeted at individual mines, whereby our high
quality coal can be blended at international import terminals for which Glencore or YanCoal has no
control.
I believe the Hunter Valley Operations Environmental Impact Statement is very robust and like other
recent mining developments is an iteration on best practice. Hunter Valley Operations continued
operations would utilise existing infrastructure in place to process and load product coal onto rail
infrastructure. This in my opinion is an efficient use of installed infrastructure and maintains
employment of over 1500 employees and specialist contracts that support all facets of coal
production and processing.

Coal mining is an integral part of the Australian economy. It provides thousands of jobs, as well as income for the government. To ensure the jobs and income of the industry, we need to find a reasonable way to slowly minimise the impact of mining. This is not a process that can be completed in 5-10 years. It will take 40-50 years to find a sustainable income for the government and transition the thousands of workers in the industry. For this reason we need to make sure that coal mining is not simply banned overnight, as this would cripple the government and add enormous pressure to the economy due to the huge rise in unemployment.

I support both the HVO North and HVO South Continuation projects.
I believe the continued operation of global coal fired power stations is necessary to provide energy stability as the world transitions to a lower carbon future. The transition to a lower carbon future will still take several decades to fully supply global energy requirements.
This will require a stable supply of coal into the future to fuel both Australia's power stations and those around the globe. If this coal is not supplied by Australia, it will be sourced from elsewhere. In comparison to where this coal is likely to be sourced from, Australia has:
- Stronger work health and safety laws and regulations,
- Stronger environmental protection laws and regulations, and
- Higher quality coal

If this coal is supplied from these nations more people globally will be exposed to health and safety hazards, more heavily polluting coal will be used to supply energy and the mines producing this coal will be more heavily polluting.

If coal is phased out earlier and mines become uneconomical sooner than predicted, Australia has a strong approvals process that includes remediation requirements. A mine that is closed before originally predicted will be forced to remediate the affected mine land in accordance with these mandates. A similar mine elsewhere has the potential to be abandoned leaving the remaining mine land unusable. Australia as a global citizen would be ignorant to not include these factors in their decision making and take responsibility for the repercussions in the global scene.

If the approval committee doesn't believe the above is the case then these laws and remediation requirements should be strengthened by the very government overseeing this approval.

Additional benefits to the north and south project include the fact that Hunter Valley Operations is an already established operation. Starting an equivalent mine site from scratch will require the manufacturing of new equipment, construction of more supporting infrastructure and increased efforts in establishing an operating mine site. These would all lead to additional emissions from these activities that will not be incurred by a mine continuing to operate.

All these reasons additionally do not touch on the financial benefits for Australia and investment into the local companies and employment of local people in the vicinity of the mine.

Thank you for your review of my submission.

I support the project because it's invaluable to our local and national economy.

I support the project as one of thousands of people who are likely to understand that the project has significantly more benefit to the local and state economy. The project benefits for our society far exceeds what any real or perceived objection will amount to.

Throughout COVID it brought home to most people how important it was to everyone in order to be able to provide for their families, to provide an income to sustain their ability to live.

There are no other industries established and ready to provide reliable employment for such large volumes of both direct and indirect employee's. The social impact of not approving applications such as this is largely not considered yet we consider future impacts to many other aspects as part of the environmental consideration of this project other than the livelihoods of those connected to this industry.

A second consideration is that while the coal produced from this project is often only recognised at the Tier 1, 2 and 3 emissions it seldom gets talked about where the majority of people consume the actual end output is far closer to home;

1. Coal that is used for both domestic and export thermal use is actually powering industry that we take for granted in the products that we consume, motor vehicles manufactured in Japan that we drive on the roads in Australia is only possible with primary inputs of iron ore and coal exported from Australia.

2. Coal that is used for steel making eventually finds it's way back to Australia for nearly every product that is consumed. To think we haven't benefited from this in our everyday lives is a very naive assumption to make and not nearly well enough understood when it comes to making a direct link to approving a project such as this so that we may continue to purchase goods and services in our everyday life.

Please consider that there are no technological alternatives that provides the energy and steel at volumes required by our population. The result of not approving these projects without a clear alternative will mean that we will suffer the social impact far earlier than any other risks presented by this project.

Thank your for your consideration of my support.

Ashley McLeod

I support this project as myself and my family are either directly or indirectly involved with HVO. The continuation is imperative for our continued employment. We need to be able to support our families and the local communities we live in.