Glencore has one more hurdle to clear to secure the future of its flagship thermal and coking coal mine.
Yesterday, the NSW planning commission approved the Hunter Valley Operations Continuation project, meaning it now only needs final approval from the Federal Government to save the jobs of around 1500 miners.
“Glencore welcomes the decision by the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) to approve the HVO Continuation Project,” they said.
“HVO represents a key part of our Australian coal business, producing high-quality thermal and semi-soft steelmaking coal for export.
“The HVO Continuation Project aims to recover further coal resources within the existing mining tenements at HVO, extending the life of mine from 2026 to 2045 at HVO North and from 2030 to 2042 at HVO South.
“The approval follows a six-year regulatory assessment process [during which] the project’s design was amended to align with NSW and Federal Government legislative guidelines, environmental standards and climate change policies.”
HVO is independently managed on behalf of its JV owners, Yancoal (51%) and Glencore (49%), who sought the extension primarily to keep operating beyond their existing land-use consent expiry dates.
Without an extension, mining operations at HVO North must wrap up by 2026, and HVO South by 2030.