Ensham Central project
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process
Ensham Resources Pty Ltd (Ensham) is the proponent for an expansion of the existing Ensham open-cut coal mine to be known as the "Ensham Central Project" (ECP). The existing Ensham mine is a large open cut, dragline and truck and shovel operation on ML7459, ML70326 and ML70049 located 40km east of Emerald in Central Queensland.
Ensham lodged a Voluntary Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) application for the ECP that was accepted by the department on 2 November 2004. The EIS Assessment Report has been issued to the proponent in December 2006, and is available for inspection (a link to the document is provided below). The project was permitted to proceed, subject to amendment of the existing Environmental Authority (EA).
The ECP was approved on 19 February 2007 under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 in respect of threatened species and communities.
Further assessment
Prior to issue of a draft Environmental Authority (EA) for the ECP EIS, Ensham revised the mine plan for the ECP by varying the underground and open-cut coal mining and ancillary activities from that of the ECP EIS, approved in 2006.
The department requested Ensham to submit a Supplementary Report for the ECP to inform government and the public about the revised mine plan and associated impacts on environmental values, management and mitigation measures and rehabilitation. The Supplementary Report, including a draft EM Plan, was released for public notification under section 556 of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act).
The revised ECP proposal involves the following components:
- Replacing open-cut mining with underground longwall mining between the Nogoa River and the anabranch channels;
- A new underground bord and pillar mine to the east of the longwall mine;
- Extending open cut mining within the Nogoa River floodplain, south of the Nogoa River;
- A product coal production rate of up to 12 million tonnes per year (Mt/y) depending on market conditions;
- New coal handling and transport facilities, a new washplant, new tailings dams and upgrading of existing coal handling infrastructure; and
- Additional surface area applications over ML7459 and new mining lease applications (MLAs) for MLA70365 and MLA70366 and MLA70367.
The difference between the revised ECP and the original ECP EIS approved in 2006 includes:
- Two longwall panels removed from the eastern end in the area south of the Nogoa River. Additional short panel sections have been added beneath the floodplain in between the Nogoa River and the anabranch channel resulting in no surface subsidence within 100m of the top of the high bank of the Nogoa River and anabranch channel. In the original EIS this area was previously proposed to be mined by open cut methods.
- Underground bord and pillar mining in the area east of the longwall mine. In the original ECP EIS this area was proposed to be mined by a combination of open cut and underground longwall mining methods. Bord and pillar mining is not predicted to result in any disturbance of the surface.
- The removal of open cut mining in the floodplain north of the Nogoa River and replacement with underground bord and pillar mining and therefore, no loss of the anabranch and no requirement to backfill and recommission the floodplain in these areas
- Maintaining coal production at 12 million tonnes per year (Mt/y) of product coal, instead of ramping up production to 20Mt/y.
Public notification of the revised ECP was completed in December 2009 and a revised draft EA was issued to Ensham in February 2010. Objections to the draft EA are currently being heard in the Land Court.
Additional information
Publicly available documents:
- Final terms of reference (see availability)
- Initial advice statement (Project description) (see availability)
- Figure 1
- Figure 2
- Public notice (s51 EP Act)
- EIS assessment report (PDF, 2.9M) (see availability)
- Draft environmental authority (EA)
For further information about the EIS process for the ECP contact us.
Available from the library catalogue
The documents referred to on this page are available from the department’s online library catalogue.