Approval Given for Mining of 5 Million Tonne of Coal on Stockton Ridge

Approval has been given to Solid Energy to mine about 5 million tonne of coal on the ridgeline of its large Stockton coking coal export mine providing adequate conservation measures are undertaken to protect a rare snail population.

Solid Energy said it welcomed the decision by the Minister of Conservation and Associate Minister of Energy granting a wildlife permit for the Mt Augustus area of the Stockton.

The coal producer said this was a good outcome that both secures the future of the opencast mine and gives the best possible chance of survival for the Powelliphanta snail population on the site.

Mining along the ridgeline, which covers a number of mining blocks, including Mt Augustus is planned to be carried out for up to five years and will secure the jobs of about 380 Solid Energy staff and contractors who work at Stockton, the company said.

The coal at Mt Augustus, valued at about $400 million, is needed to blend and raise the specifications of lower quality coal in other parts of the mine to meet customer orders.

Solid Energy chief executive officer, Dr Don Elder, says: “This is excellent news. We can now work towards meeting our contracted customer orders for this high quality coking coal.

“At the same time we can secure the best possible outcome for the threatened snail population by moving them to an area of suitable habitat, subject to stringent predator control, as we recognise that much of their existing habitat has been lost and mining has largely isolated what is left.”

Dr Elder said Solid Energy was committed to meeting the strict conservation conditions imposed by the Ministers.

Following discussion on the details with the Department of Conservation, Solid Energy will begin relocating by hand the snail population to an area north of Mt Augustus. The snail habitat will then be moved by a method called direct transfer to an adjacent site. The relocation and direct transfer sites will be subject to ongoing predator control measures.

Source: Solid Energy press release