1.2.3.1.6 Vickery Coal Project (including Vickery South Coal Project)

The Vickery Coal Project involves open-cut mining within Coal Lease (CL) 316 and the adjoining Mining Lease (ML) 1471, as well as mining related activities in Mining Lease Application (MLA) areas 1, 2 and 3 (designated MLA 447). The Vickery Coal Project is approximately 22 km north of Gunnedah and about 18 km south-east of Boggabri. The marketable reserves of the Vickery Coal Project are 180 Mt, sufficient for a 30-year mine life or more. Mine planning for the Vickery Coal Project includes a pit design that produces 164 Mt of ROM coal with coal quality assessed as consistent with both Tarrawonga and Maules Creek coals (Whitehaven Coal, 2013). The Vickery Coal Project was approved with conditions by the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure in September 2014. The Vickery Coal Project did not require approval under the EPBC Act as the proposed action was considered not likely to be significant if undertaken in a particular manner. The Vickery Project was referred for assessment under the EPBC Act prior to the ‘water trigger’ amendment.

In March 2013 Whitehaven Coal acquired Itochu Corporation’s interest in the Vickery South Coal Project. As a result, Whitehaven Coal now owns 100% of the Vickery South Project. The Vickery South Coal Project area is adjacent to Whitehaven Coal’s existing Vickery Coal Project. The combined area has an open-cut JORC Code resource of 507.9 Mt. However, the Vickery South deposit is not included in the current Vickery Coal Project approval (Whitehaven Coal, 2013).