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A proposed new coal mine in Queensland is so massive it is likely to do more harm to the local economy than good.
Sydney Morning Herald reports that the China First Coal Project being developed by mining baron Clive Palmer will create such a large mining boom that it will negatively impact manufacturing and other sectors in Queensland according to an economic assessment of the project:
The economic impact statement prepared for Mr Palmer’s Waratah Coal shows the proposed mine in central Queensland’s Galilee Basin will pour hundreds of millions of dollars into government coffers, be a net job creator and increase the nation’s annual coal exports by $4.6 billion, or one quarter.
But it will also exacerbate the two-speed economy the nation’s mining boom is creating, have an influence in keeping the dollar high, create labour shortages and drive up wages.
SMH reports left-leaning economic thinktank The Australia Institute estimates 3,000 jobs in agriculture, tourism and manufacturing will be lost to the mine, with the manufacturing loss alone worth some $1.2 billion.
”Far from being a shot in the arm for Queensland as the Premier [Anna Bligh] described it when the deal was announced, this one has the potential to harm the state,” Australia Institute executive director Richard Denniss told The Herald.
Waratah Coal says on its website that the mine contains an astonishing 3.6 billion tonnes of coal resources and 1.1 billion tonnes of reserves. The $8 billion staged project includes a combination open-pit and underground mine, capable of producing 40 Mtpa thermal coal, a 471-km railway from the mine to Abbott Point, and new port facilities at Abbott Point.
Earlier this year Waratah Coal released an environmental impact statement on the project and has applied for a mining lease with the Queensland Department of Mines and Energy.
The company is targeting 2014 for project completion.
Image of exploration at the China First Coal Project site courtesy of Waratah Coal.
2 Comments
Ken
“estimates 3,000 jobs in agriculture, tourism and manufacturing will be lost to the mine”
That is crazy. The mine will need equipment, supplies and other support that will come from manufacturing, services and agriculture. If anything the mine will create jobs in these sectors. Maybe the people at The Australia Institute have an agenda and are putting out these false numbers to push that agenda.
Michael
It could be a legitimate arguement that more jobs will be lost in the support sectors of the economy, however it happens to be the case that the support sector workforce has already been eroded to the point of no-repair in the central queensland region. Perhaps if Mr Palmer took the lead to encourgae stabilising support sector workforces, before starting a potential wage war with the other major mining companies in CQ to secure his own mine labour workforce. How to do that is beyond me, all the mining companies are so wrapped up in thier own self serving wants they forget about the rest of the community at large. There is always a drive to reduce the total cost of ownership on mine sties, lets adpat that concept and develop a change that will transfer/increase the total cost of social responsibility to the mines. Don’t give the royalty money to the government to spend, they almost always squander it. Make the mines spend the royalty money on much needed local community infrastrcuture.