21 December 2017
MEDIA STATEMENT
UPDATE ON GVK HANCOCK COAL PROJECTS
GVK Hancock continues to work towards obtaining the regulatory approvals for the Alpha Coal Mine and the Kevin’s Corner Coal Mine in the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland.
Significant progress was made in 2017 with legal challenges finally dismissed by the Courts. The company now holds an Environmental Authority for both mines and will continue to work through the recommendations made by the Queensland Land Court ahead of the Mining Leases.
GVK Hancock is taking a responsible approach and will only bring on new large-scale production volumes if we are confident that market conditions support such a development.
The latest coal report from the International Energy Agency confirms that growth in key markets for high-quality coal will continue to underpin Australian coal exports. The IEA Coal 2017 Report is predicting demand to 2022 and says higher consumption in India and Asian countries is expected to more than offset lower demand in other markets in Europe, America and China.
Good quality Australian thermal coal is in demand because it is ideally suited to new generation High Efficiency, Low Emissions (HELE) coal-fired power plants. This demand growth will continue and the GVK Hancock coal projects are well placed to meet that demand in the coming decades.
The company has invested many millions of dollars into scientific and environmental assessments and has met all the stringent requirements of the State and Federal governments. The favourable geology and large-scale mining techniques ensure the mines are competitive in all conditions.
The shareholders of GVK Hancock remain fully committed to these projects and will make further major financial commitments at suitable stages to be ready when market supply diminishes. The company has no plans to divest its interests and is not in such discussions with any party.
The Alpha and Kevin’s Corner projects will require significant capital investments including for the rail and port, and the company continues to liaise with Aurizon on the infrastructure development.
The two mines at full production will produce around 60 million tonnes annually for 30 years.