At a Bowen Basin Mining Club luncheon last week, the message was simple – Adani needs the support of the Queensland mining industry for the Galilee Basin to be opened.
Club Director Jodie Currie said the atmosphere in the room was one of encouragement and optimism, particularly given the recent approval of Adani’s Carmichael mining lease.
“As an industry, it’s now our responsibility to help change the national conversation around Carmichael and the Galilee Basin, which is a world class thermal coal resource,” said Ms Currie.
Adani CEO and Country Head Jeyakumar Janakaraj agreed, outlining the reasons why the Galilee Basin and its high-quality, low-emission coal makes so much sense for India’s future electricity and growth.
“The coal demand in India will grow by 173 per cent from 2013 to 2020, and this demand is independent of Australia,” Mr Janakaraj said.
“If India’s coal doesn’t come from the Galilee Basin, India will burn 30 per cent more dirty coal from elsewhere to generate the same amount of electricity.”
In addition to the quality of Galilee Basin coal, the Carmichael project is insulated from the coal market, with Adani’s pit-to-plug strategy ensuring that cost is the most important factor, rather than the coal price. This makes the suppliers and contractors to the mine more important than ever.
“We cannot deliver this project by ourselves. We are here to learn and deliver together – and that will be our success factor,” said Mr Janakaraj.
Downer Mining, the principal contractor for Carmichael, agree that efficiency and a long-term focus will be critical to the project’s success.
“The supply chain’s innovation and capability is an extremely important focus, to deliver the best value down the line,” said COO Open Cut East Kurt Baumgart.
Downer have also proposed to extend the Carmichael supply catchment as far north as Townsville and as far south as Rockhampton, which is good news for all of regional Queensland.
“Now is the time for businesses to prepare and be ready to do business with the big players. Being able to prove a track record of innovation and cost saving measures will stand any business in good stead,” said Ms Currie.
The function was also used as an opportunity to launch a fact sheet to “set straight the truths about the Galilee Basin”. It touches on topics such as the Carmichael project and the Abbot Point coal terminal, as well as how Galilee Basin coal will contribute to lowering global energy poverty.
“The land to be mined is neither prime agricultural nor prime residential. The conditions of the approval ensure that following the project’s completion, the land will be rehabilitated to a stable and productive condition, consistent with that prior to the start of the development,” the fact sheet said of the proposed Carmichael mine.
“Adani has worked with four Traditional Land Owner groups to agree on a comprehensive Indigenous Participation Plan with a direct benefit of at least $250 million in business development, jobs and training opportunities for Indigenous groups that will span 30 years.
“The Carmichael project is an integrated pit to plug strategy and does not rely on the price of coal.”
The fact sheet was produced by a collaboration of industry groups across regional Queensland.
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