Coal Mine to go Ahead

Abstract

[Extract] On 27 March 2012, the Queensland Land Court handed down its decision in Xstrata Coal Qld Pty Ltd v Friends of the Earth – Brisbane Co-Op Ltd [2012] QLC 013 resulting in a win for Xstrata to undertake extensive coal mining operations in the Wandoan district in Queensland.

The decision considered objections by a number of landowners in the affected area, under the Mineral Resources Act 1989 (Qld) ('MRA') and the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld) ('EPA'), as well as the Friends of the Earth ('FoE').

While the Court made some orders in favour of the landowners – notably through the exemption of parts of their land from the mining lease areas – none of the objections resulted in orders to refuse any of the mining lease applications.