Survery works begin at Acland Stage Three coal mine

By HARRY CLARKE

THERE are ‘boots on the ground’ in an area north of Oakey that will soon be dug up as the controversial third stage of the New Hope Group’s open cut coal mine at Acland.

Initial surveying works for the billon dollar project are underway this week following a 12 year legal battle, which was finalised last month when the Queensland Government approved New Hope’s application for an Associated Water Licence – the last remaining requirement for mining to proceed.

Hundreds of workers who’d been laid off, as operations across New Hope’s exisiting mining pits ceased, have begun returning to communities around Oakey and to work at Acland.

The project’s third stage had been met with fierce opposition from the Oakey Coal Action Alliance which, in general, was concerned about the mine’s potential impact on ground water as well as potential light and noise pollution.

Excavation works on the Stage Three section (on the southern side of the mining tenement) are expected to begin just after Christmas. A full workforce of about 320 will return throughout the beginning of next year

“This is an exciting time,” said Dave O’Dwyer, general manager of the New Acland Coal Mine.

“We’ve come a long way. We’ve been waiting for our approvals, diligently working with government departments and we’re really happy to see those departments come through with the approvals. 

“The care and maintenance workforce is out here today and we’re pegging out the first lines, which is the start of work at New Acland Stage Three.

“The pits over the back will be back filled. As we start mining here, this material will go into those (old) pits and we’ll reform the landscape, put the top soil back on there, and rehabilitate that like we have all the other areas of the mine.

“We’ve mined as much coal in the (previous) leases as we can and there’s just nothing left for us to get, hence why we moved into care and maintenance 12 months ago.”

In September New Hope began calling for expressions of interest in preparation to recruit a new work force for its mine expansion. O’Dwyer said formal job advertisements would be published over the coming fortnight.

“We’ve had amazing response on the expressions of interest portal – over 12 hundred people have reached out to us,” he said.

“250-odd are returning employees looking to come back, so that’s just really great news for us. We know there’s plenty of people out there looking for work and we’re really keen to get going. 

“I’m talking to the Chamber of Commerce about local suppliers and how they can get in with us and make sure that they’re in the hunt to supply for us once we get into full production.”

Mark Beckman is the bulk operations manager for Qube, one of New Hope’s main contractors. He said seeing works finally commence on Stage Three was a “real sigh of relief”.

“It means a lot to us, particularly for staff who’ve had to leave the local area and relocate into Central Queensland or interstate,” Beckman said.

“It’s really exciting for them to be able to come back and pick up where they finished. 

“I’ve worked her for almost 20 years now and it’s always been my goal prior to retirement to ensure that we were going to get Stage Three and the continuation of contract.

“So it’s really good when you look at our scope of work, from the transport of coal from the mine site, down to the loading facility and the management and stockpiling and loading of trains. It’s all those other services that benefit.”

Beckman is also a cattleman and former president of the Brangus breeders society.