Extract from ABC News
The first coal shipment from central Queensland Carmichael Mine is about to leave Australian shores after years of controversy, international media coverage and environmental campaigning against the facility.
Key points:
- Bravus says the mine's first coal shipment is ready to be loaded at North Queensland Export Terminal.
- It comes after years of controversy and heavy opposition from environmental and Indigenous groups.
- The company would not say where the first shipment is headed, other than to an Asia-Pacific client
Bravus Mining and Resources, the Australian arm of Adani, on Wednesday confirmed the shipment had been assembled at the North Queensland Export Terminal in Bowen.
Bravus CEO David Boshoff celebrated the milestone, calling it a "big moment".
"From day one, the objectives of the Carmichael Project were to supply high-quality Queensland coal to nations determined to lift millions of their citizens out of energy poverty and to create local jobs and economic prosperity in Queensland communities in the process," Mr Boshoff said.
"With the support of the people of regional Queensland, we have delivered on that promise."
Milestone met with anger
The shipment comes amid continuing protests against the mine and follows years of fierce campaigning from environmental activists.
The Australian Conservation Foundation said the mine made "a mockery" of Australia's emissions targets.
And, locally, scuba diving guide and Whitsunday Conservation Council spokesperson Tony Fontes said he felt "despair and anger".
"Both state and federal governments supported Adani in opening the mine and ensuring that the Great Barrier Reef is not going to survive this century," Mr Fontes said.
"[But] one would hope that in the very near future, there will not be a market for thermal coal.
However, Bravus insisted Australian coal would have a role alongside renewables for decades "as part of an energy mix that delivers reliable and affordable power with reduced emissions intensity".
Adrian Burragubba, a Nagan Yarrbayn senior elder and spokesperson for the Wangan and Jagalingou cultural custodians, said the development was "very disappointing".
In 2016, the Wangan and Jagalingou people voted 294 to one in favour of an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) with Adani. Subsequent challenges against the ILUA were dismissed in court.
Mine opponents now represent a small portion of traditional owners who, since signing the agreement, have been working with Bravus.
"Because our voices [have] never been heard, we feel that we've been segregated not only by the court system, by the judicial system, [but] by the other people from that native title claim," Mr Burragubba said.
The elder said he would continue fighting against the mine and a group of traditional owners camped next to the mine would stay.
"And while that continues, we're still a constant reminder that, you know, we are the original people from there."
Bravus said the first shipment of coal would be loaded and dispatched, subject to the port's shipping schedule.
It did not say when the shipment would leave or where it was going.
"The first export shipment is of a commercial scale and is going to a customer, with further details remaining commercial in confidence," it said.
The company plans to produce 10 million tonnes of coal a year from the mine, to be sold to customers in the Asia-Pacific region at 'index adjusted pricing'.
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