Mount Pleasant Optimisation Project

I feel this project is good for the hunters economy, and to provide a reliable ,continuous source of baseload power

Great for future employment and growth an many areas.

Muswellbrook requires the community support this project will bring

I think the expansion is a great project allowing the future growth of coal in the hunter valley. This is keeping people employed both within the mining industry and associated business attached.

I look forward to the continued operation of Mt Pleasant as it provides safe and sustainable coal while supporting the community of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley with reliable work for it's population. Thank you.

As I live in the town of Muswellbrook and I am on the side closest to the mine site, I can view the actions of Mount Un-Pleasant daily.

From what I can see happening every afternoon on dusk the water carts stop, and dust is going straight up into the air and over the town. This is clearly visible from any vantage point. The solar panels on my roof need regular cleaning now to stay functional and when it rains the water in my gutters runs brown and my freshwater tank is now full of dirt. We are encouraged to save water and place solar panels on our homes, but it makes it hard to use these when a mine site is polluting the environment and the government agency is doing nothing about it.

There is also no light pollution control and the lights are shining all over the town from the mine unless you have block out curtains the high-powered lights will light up your room at night.

Mine vehicles can be clearly see dumping spoil from the town and every time this happens another dust cloud comes towards the town.

The noise from mine vehicles is can be clearly heard at night and there are no sound barriers in place to stop this from occurring.

The NSW government does not do enough in the way of checking on any controls and the mine is now doing what it wants.

The actions that currently need to be address before any extension should be considered are:
• Dust pollution
• Noise Pollution
• Light Pollution

Unless the mine is held accountable and forced to amend its current operations then it should not get an extension.

To keep jobs in the mine industry and to supply our quality resource to the world.

Mount Pleasant has provided significant opportunities for small businesses to grow based on their contributions on site. There has been a focus by the MACH Energy team and contracting partners to hire local and utilise local sub contractors and contribute in a positive way to the local communities it services.
This optimization project will allow the site to continue to operate past its current approvals of 2026 providing stable employment opportunities and allow families who have moved to town for roles there or currently have roles there to remain linked to the community.
The rehabilitation work done by MACH Energy and Thiess looks different to the standard/traditional pile it up approach of older mines and certainly gives the landscape a more natural look.

I think that mount pleasant does an excellent job in doing everything possible to rehabilitate the area to provide future usable land for the local community to utilize. The rehabilitation they have already done is proof that its not just a covered hole in the ground, it is formed to the land and already has wildlife thriving only after a few years. Mount Pleasant is full of people who care and who are making sure everything is done to help the community and the local residents.

I support this project, I have found the Mach Energy owned mine to be very courteous to the local community especially in the progressive rehabilitation front. The mine manages impacts to the community to the best of it's ability and makes contributions to the community through creating local jobs and supporting local business.
The mine understands the social licence required to operate and continually looks to improve it's impact while continuing production goals. I work as a contractor to this mine and the extension means job security for me and my work mates.

I support the project as it will create additional employment in the area both on site and in the wider retail outlets of Muswellbrook. The project will also ensure job security, in the area for many people.

The project provides employment opportunities for the region.

Mount Pleasant Mine will encourage its employment and economy for the community as well as the nation's exports and reliable energy resources.
It has proved that it listens and looks after its community as it can be seen in the recent rehabilitation project etc.
I will support the project.

The whole premise of this project is tone deaf. The Upper Hunter does not need any more coal mines, Australia does not need any more coal mines and the planet definitely doesn’t.
Upper Hunter Residents have had to battle for years to stop this whole region in turning into one massive coal pit with no thought for the current residents, their children let alone the needs of the country or the planet. The footprint of these mines has expanded massively in the past 15~20 years encroaching to impact land designated as critical industry clusters and/or strategic agricultural land. The town of Muswellbrook is now totally encircled by open cut coal pits, visible in almost every direction from the centre of town. The Mt.Pleasant mine is only 3 km from the town and is contributing a visible blight to the west.
Measuring the impact of the extension of this mine individually is extremely misleading when there are already 40 plus open cut coal mines in the Hunter Valley. The cumulative impact on air quality, water resources, visual amenity, the environment, social fabric and health and wellbeing of the communities of the Upper Hunter region is not considered at all in this project submission. The world is having to prepare rapidly for a post coal-based energy sector and this tone-deaf submission is promoting a project that will be marooned within a dozen years. The region needs industry and activities that are sustainable for the long term so that the community can leave the land in a state that is safe and habitable for their children and their children. A foreign owned marooned coal project is likely to be left bankrupt with no penalty to the ones who profited from the exploitation of the project. The owners of this project have no profile in this country and can shrink away leaving a scarred damage landscape, communities with no future and a massive clean-up bill for taxpayers.

Air Quality and Health Impacts

There is no safe level of air pollution.
Due to the intensity and concentration of open cut coal mines in close proximity to population centres in the Upper Hunter region, air quality has deteriorated over the last 10 years, such that there are regular exceedances of national air quality standards in the region, as evidenced by data from the Upper Hunter Air Quality Monitoring Network.
The intensity of coal production has increased in a northward direction impacting the population centres in the upper reaches of the valley far more than when mining was located away from the density of people. From the top of Scone Mountain looking south on many days you see a brown haze more akin to what you see in China or saw in Soviet era Eastern Europe. Asthmatics and people with cardiorespiratory disease in these communities are being adversely impacted by environmental air pollution contributed to, in large part, by open cut coal mining.

Water Impacts

Cumulative 10m drawdown is predicted in the Hunter River alluvium and the impact of the mine on water resources, including the alluvium and Dartbrook, will worsen after mining ceases.

Visual Impacts
The visual impacts from the currently approved Mt Pleasant mine are stark and impossible to ignore. The eastern spoil pile of the mine will be 100m higher if this expansion project is approved and will be visible from Scone.
Noise impacts
The community of Muswellbrook are already experiencing noise intrusions from the currently approved mine which will only be exacerbated by expansion and extension of this mine in time and space.

Community and Social Impacts

There are 30 privately-owned rural residences or parcels of land with the right to acquisition upon request because of intolerable air and noise pollution. The social impact assessment acknowledges the flow-on impact this will have on the social fabric and volunteer organisations like the RFS.

Environmental impacts

The legacy being left by open cut coal mining in the Upper Hunter is catastrophic and nothing short of tragic. The communities of this region are experiencing, and will be left with, environmental degradation on a scale that no other community in NSW is being subjected to.
This project will increase the already multiple negative impacts which mining is already having on our local environment. With reference to the Rocky Hill decision by Chief Justice Preston, now is the time that rapid and deep decreases in emissions are needed to ensure climate targets can be met.
The cumulative impacts from the already existing multiple mines in the Upper Hunter already significantly impact the environment. Additional mining is not needed and is considered a tipping point in terms of long-term negative impacts on our environment.

Final Voids

Final voids left from open cut coal mining in the Upper Hunter are vast without enough remediation funding available to properly manage the after-effects of these saline water-laden toxic dumps.

Climate Impacts

The impacts of this open cut coal mining operation on climate change are not considered in this process, since Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions are no longer able to be taken into account by the IPC in the planning process. This is a gross omission of one of the greatest known man-made contributors to climate change. The estimated greenhouse gas emissions over the life of the mine if this project goes ahead are 860 million tonnes.

Stop this tone deaf vandalization of our land. The Upper Hunter does not want or need this project. The country doesn't need it and the world cannot afford it. We need to start caring for the Upper Hunter Country with projects that will ensure a quality environment for generations like a pumped Hydro scheme based around the existing infrastructure like Lake Glenbawn or Lake Liddell.

I'm writing this submission as a resident of Muswellbrook as well as an employee at Mt Pleasant. Before the commencement of mining at Mt Pleasant, I was worried about the proximity of the mine to the town, that it would be unsightly and create much more dust. I can honestly say that the rehabilitation of the site has been really impressive. The rate of rehab as the visual bund is being built is very reassuring. I have been present at talks by the Environmental team while they explain the process and science behind the rehabilitation at Mt Pleasant and the results speak for themselves. As you enter Muswellbrook along the New England Highway from Singleton and as you sit on my back deck, you are not assaulted by a bread loaf of dirt but rather, an attractive hillside where birds and other fauna are already making their homes. Also, knowing the stringent dust controls in place at the mine and witnessing the plumes travelling around the corner from Bengalla, I feel the dust levels in Muswellbrook haven't been heightened due to the production at Mt Pleasant.

I'm proud to proclaim in the community that I work at Mt Pleasant. I expose the tough dust controls, the rehab work and the community benefit of the mine to all who will listen. To live in such close proximity to my workplace is so beneficial to me and my family. I've been at Mt Pleasant for 2 years now and I'd love to be there for many years to come.

Healthy for Muswellbrook good employment

I am an employee on site at the Mt Pleasant Operations. I have been coming to site since 2017, I then commenced full time employment in 2018. I have since then moved too Muswellbrook, I am currently looking too buy a house in Muswellbrook. If i was not to work at Mt Pleasant i would not be living in area, i would move back to where i originated from. I solely rely on the income.

Please find attached submission on behalf of FYFE PTY LTD

I strongly support Mt pleasant operations, I have worked there for approximately 3 years Thiess do a lot for the community have brought a lot of jobs to the hunter valley and will secure a lot more jobs for a very long time with the continuation of mt pleasant operations