Maxwell Underground Coal Mine Project

I am a Mine Surveyor that has worked in the Hunter Valley for over 35 years.
I strongly support this project and would like to see the improvements this project can bring to the Hunter Region become a reality.
My detailed submission is attached

I am writing to lodge my support for the Maxwell Underground Coal Mine Project. This is a sensible project that has been designed so the Upper Hunter community can enjoy a much-needed economic boost without negatively impacting other local industries and land uses. I support the project because it will deliver important benefits for the local community, the Hunter region and NSW. One of these benefits includes the creation of 350 new jobs for the region. It is understood that these jobs will inject around $55 million in wages into our community, benefiting many other businesses in the area. Additionally, the project will generate significant revenue for the state government and local councils, in turn allowing for government investment into hospitals, schools or infrastructure.

Great for the area, the community and the local economy

Please refer to attached submission

My name is Rhys Brett and I am a mining consultant.
I am writing to lodge my support for Malabar Coal’s Maxwell Underground Project.
This is a sensible project that has been designed so our community can enjoy a much-needed economic boost without negatively impacting other local industries and land uses.
I support the project because it will deliver important benefits for the local community and NSW.
As a mining consultant, our company Palaris (based in Newcastle) has already had an opportunity to work on the Malabar Project which supports our business and many others local suppliers.
It is also great to see Malabar rehabilitating the Drayton Mine and utilising solar power which supports a transition to a cleaner economy in the Hunter and NSW
These benefits will make a substantial long-term difference to the communities in the Upper Hunter and to NSW.
Our community needs a diverse economy and the Maxwell Underground Project can help make sure our economy prospers for decades to come.

• ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The Maxwell Project will create 350 new jobs for the region. These new jobs and the wages that will flow from them, will deliver a much needed boost to the local economy. Further afield, the project will also generate $1 billion to $1.25 billion for the NSW State Government and local Councils. This money can be used to upgrade regional hospitals, schools or infrastructure. Projects like this help ensure our ongoing prosperity and can support the economy for years to come.

Kerry McTaggart
50 Pretoria ROW McCullys Gap 2333

NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
GPO Box 39, Sydney NSW 2001
Date 04/09/2019

To Whom It May Concern
Re: Maxwell Underground Coal Mine Project. SSD-9526
My name is Kerry McTaggart. I was born Muswellbrook and still reside in the Shire. I completed an electrical apprenticeship at Muswellbrook Coal in 1969 and I have since worked in the coal mining industry for most of my working life in in both underground and open cut mines as an electrician and Statutory Electrical Engineer..
I am writing to lodge my support for Malabar Coal’s Maxwell Underground Project.
Underground coal mining is an industry that has almost disappeared in this district forcing highly experienced underground coal mine workers to find work in other industries and in other areas.
Approval of this project will allow these workers to return to their origins and to the type of work they used to enjoy before the demise of underground coal mining. Others will be provided an employment opportunity to learn the special skills required for underground coal mining.
Approval of this project will provide an opportunity for people leaving school to choose a career in underground coal mining and be trained in the required skills through the Muswellbrook TAFE Mining skills centre.
This is a sensible project that has been designed so our community can enjoy a much-needed economic boost without negatively impacting other local industries and land uses.
I support the project because it will deliver important additional benefits for the local community and NSW.
• Underground mining equipment and supply industry will be able to expand in the area providing employment and economic benefits.
• More families will move/return to the area to provide growth to our schools and greater use of sporting and cultural venues.
• Malabar is also investing in a solar farm on their rehabilitated land. If approved, this could provide additional power directly to the grid, or help to power local businesses and homes. This shows the company is open to different ideas that can benefit our community.
These benefits will make a substantial long-term difference to the communities in the Upper Hunter and to NSW.
Our community needs a diverse economy and the Maxwell Underground Project can help make sure our economy prospers for decades to come.
Regards
Kerry McTaggart

I am a local resident and would support this project. My family are employed within the coal mining industry and support the expansion of the industry within the Upper Hunter.

Please see attachment for my letter of support

To whom it may concern,
As a mining engineer who has spent the majority of his working life within the mining industry, I would like to register my support for the project based on several key areas. These include -
• This project will create much-needed jobs for the region. Malabar Coal estimates that a project will generate about 350 new direct, long term jobs for the region along with many more indirect jobs. The indirect jobs could be spread within many LGA's and support both business's and families.
• The $55 million in wages will be directed at local employees and their families. These jobs will generate wages for employees in the local community each year.
• It will provide a great economic boost to the local community and the economy. The project will generate $700 million per year in export income for NSW and over the initial 1/4 century, royalties paid to the NSW State Government will exceed $1.3 billion needed for essential services such as police, schools and hospitals.
• Malabar Coal will adhere to responsible rehabilitation outcomes. Malabar will deliver a more visually appealing final outcome by placing reject stone and rock from underground operations in the voids at the old Drayton Mine.
• Community groups will be supported. Securing this project would mean ongoing support for the community groups supported by Malabar.
Current applicable legislation for such projects are exhaustive and extremely exacting, I am confident that a project supplying Coking type coals for export can be carried out safely and safeguard all environmental benchmarks.
kind regards
Dave Wood

• This project will create much-needed jobs for the region. Malabar Coal estimates that a project will generate about 350 new direct, long term jobs for the region along with many more indirect jobs.
• The $55 million in wages will be directed at local employees and their families. These jobs will generate wages for employees in the local community each year.
• It will provide a great economic boost to the local community and the economy. The project will generate $700 million per year in export income for NSW and over the initial 1/4 century, royalties paid to the NSW State Government will exceed $1.3 billion needed for essential services such as police, schools and hospitals.
• Malabar Coal will adhere to responsible rehabilitation outcomes. Malabar will deliver a more visually appealing final outcome by placing reject stone and rock from underground operations in the voids at the old Drayton Mine.
• Community groups will be supported. Securing this project would mean ongoing support for the community groups supported by Malabar.

see attached letter in support of the Maxwell Coal project
John Pala

See attached document

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am strongly supportive of the Maxwell Project.
The Project will create much needed regional jobs and will be strongly beneficial for the local, State and Federal economies.
Tim Burt

I support the plan of this mine. As an undergound mine this will not aestheically affect the local Denman district.This will be a great jobs bonus for the local economies.

I have lived in Muswellbrook for over 20 years and know firsthand how important mining and associated jobs are to the local community. Malabar Coal will create about 350 new jobs. This supports our housing market and numerous community activities. I personally am involved in our Muswellbrook & Upper Hunter Eisteddfod and my local Choir. My family had a long term involvement with our local athletic Club, Bridge Club and the Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music. These are just a few activities that rely on mining families. We have yoga groups, an amateur theatre group, dance schools and sporting clubs, all of which rely on mining families for members & Funds.

It is unbelievable that there are still considerations made about future coal projects. Move to renewables.

I support the project

As a Singleton resident, I support the Maxwell project, its economic and social benefit to the local community, the state and the nation and trust that it may be approved without the long regulatory delays that continue to impose avoidable stress and cost on local mines, their work forces and potential employees.

I am a 24-year old resident of the Newcastle Area about to complete a Bachelor of Environmental Science.

I object to this project on the ground that the EIS doesn't adequately address the full life-cycle climate impacts of the Maxwell Underground Coal Mine. According to the EIS, the project is anticipated to produce 8000 tonnes coal/annum, producing an equivalent of 146 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over its 26-year lifetime. This represents 0.08% of Australia's annual emissions (on 2016 levels), which I argue is not a negligible amount, given that we need to reduce our emissions by 45% by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees (IPCC, 2018).

The IPCC further recommends that to prevent the devastating impacts of climate change, 80 and 90 percent of coal reserves worldwide will need to remain in the ground. The longer the world continues to develop new coal projects, the more reliant we will be on negative emissions technologies (which haven’t been invented yet) to drastically drawdown carbon and prevent further ecological collapse.

The project also necessitates the clearing of 146 ha of threatened native vegetation, and the land-use change emissions from this activity have also not been addressed. 1 hectare of mature trees can store as much as 100-300 tonnes of C02 (Carbon Neutral). The EIS also fails to adequately describe in detail the exact nature of biodiversity offsets that Malabar Coal will pursue, including what sites will be determined as ‘like’ vegetation and whether the offset will include the required component of ‘additionally’. The clearing of this vegetation will also mean a loss of habitat for species, as well as drastically reducing water retention of the soil with increased risk of erosion and further landscape degradation.

Furthermore at a time where rural Australian towns are running out off water, and widespread drought across the entire country, the State should be very careful about approving developments that extract large amounts of water from natural systems. The EIS provides a conservative estimate of 4 000 000 L (4ML) of water consumption/day (more than an Olympic-sized swimming pool of water/day). Extraction of water this amount of water in a drought-stricken agricultural region is irresponsible.

The climate outlook for my future is bleak, and so much of Australia’s prime agricultural land, and pristine landscape has been damaged by mining development in the past. I urge the State Government to carefully consider this project in the context of climate change, as the long-term detrimental impacts far outweigh the short-term benefits that this project may bring.

Please, Australia needs to transform its carbon-heavy economy, and drastically reduce its emissions, otherwise our state will be permanently ravaged by drought, bushfires and extreme heatwaves, rising seas inundating coastal areas, reduced food production, water scarcity - it’s not worth it.

Other alternate technology exist for steel-production other than coking coal. Studies have investigated using waste plastic, old tyres even direct air capture as a pure carbon source for steel production. We should be investing in human innovation, and not continue liberating ancient carbon stores from the ground.

Yours sincerely,

Rachael Scott