The information summarised here was obtained from companion product 1.2 for the Gloucester subregion (Hodgkinson et al., 2014). The baseline coal resource development (baseline) comprises Duralie and Stratford mines. The coal resource development pathway also includes the Duralie and Stratford mines and their expansions post December 2012 as well as Rocky Hill Mine and Stage 1 gas field development area of AGL’s proposed CSG development in the Gloucester Gas Project. The CRDP was confirmed in October 2015. There may be further stages (beyond Stage 1) of AGL’s proposed CSG development in the Gloucester Gas Project but there is no publicly available documentation of these as at October 2015. While AGL withdrew from their proposed Gloucester Gas Project in December 2015, as per the companion submethodology M04 (as listed in Table 1) for developing a coal resource development pathway (Lewis et al., 2014), the CRDP was not revisited.
Figure 10 shows the location of coal mines and CSG deposits in the Gloucester subregion and the area proposed for AGL’s Stage 1 gas field development area. Table 8 lists potential developments with locations, resource figures and development status. CSG resources are reported as proved plus probable reserves (2P) using the Petroleum Resource Management System (PRMS). Figure 11 shows timelines for coal resource developments in the Gloucester subregion.
The locations of Rocky Hill coal deposit and AGL’s Stage 1 gas field development area have been added from publicly available company documents. Coal resource figures presented in Table 8 are from the OZMIN database (Geoscience Australia, Dataset 1), with more recent updates added using information available from Yancoal Australian Stock Exchange 2013 (Yancoal, 2014) releases and from the Gloucester Resources Limited (2013) EIS for its proposed Rocky Hill coal development. CSG resource numbers in Table 8 are from AGL (AGL Energy Limited, 2013).
In late 2012, the NSW Government introduced its Strategic Regional Land Use Policy to protect valuable residential and agricultural land across NSW from the impacts of mining and CSG activity (NSW Government, 2014). Information was released in January 2014, identifying the areas of Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land – land of high quality soil and water resources capable of supporting high levels of agricultural production – across NSW, which are deemed necessary to support the state’s $12 billion per year agricultural industry. CSG exclusion zones were identified by Strategic Agricultural Lands in 2013 (NSW Government, 2013) and are shown in Figure 12.
Table 8 Existing operations and proposed developments in the baseline coal resource development, additional coal resource development and coal resource development pathway as at October 2015
The primary activity in bioregional assessments (BAs) is the comparison of two potential futures: (i) the baseline coal resource development (baseline), a future that includes all coal mines and coal seam gas (CSG) fields that are commercially producing as of December 2012; and (ii) the coal resource development pathway (CRDP), a future that includes all coal mines and CSG fields that are in the baseline as well as those that are expected to begin commercial production after December 2012. The difference between CRDP and baseline (known as the additional coal resource development) is the change that is primarily reported in a BA.
|
Name of existing operation or proposed development |
Coal mine or coal seam gas (CSG) operation |
Company |
Included in baseline? |
Included in coal resource development pathway (CRDP)? |
Start of mining operations or estimated project start |
Projected mine life or estimated project life |
Tenement(s) |
Total coal resources (Mt)a (for coal mining) or 2Pb gas reserves (for CSG) (PJ) |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Duralie Coal Mine |
Open-cut coal mine |
Yancoal Australia Ltd |
Yes |
Yes – model |
2003 |
2017 |
ML 1427 |
148c |
None needed |
|
Duralie Coal Mine expansion |
Open-cut coal mine |
Yancoal Australia Ltd |
No |
Yes – model |
2013 |
2024 |
ML 1427,ML A1 |
8.9c |
Expansion approved by NSW Land and Environment Court, November 2011 |
|
Stratford Mining Complex |
Open-cut coal mine |
Yancoal Australia Ltd |
Yes |
Yes – model |
1995 |
2026 |
ML 1360, ML 1409, ML 1447, ML 1521,ML 1538, ML 1577, ML 1528 |
98c |
None needed |
|
Stratford Mining Complex expansion |
Open-cut coal mine |
Yancoal Australia Ltd |
No |
Yes – model |
2015 |
2026 |
ML 1360, ML 1409, ML1447, ML 1521, ML 1528, ML 1538, ML 1577, EL 6904, EL 311, EL 315 |
24.15c |
Extension approved by NSW Planning Assessment Commission, May 2015 |
|
Rocky Hill Coal Project |
Open-cut coal mine |
Gloucester Resources |
No |
Yes – model |
2016? If approval granted |
2037 |
EL 6523, EL 6524, EL 6563 |
25c |
On hold by NSW Government, as at June 2015 |
|
Gloucester Gas Project stage 1 |
CSG |
AGL |
No |
Yes – model |
2016 |
15–25 years (depending on the extent of the CSG resources) |
PEL 285 |
454b for Gloucester Basin exploration to December 2013 |
Waukivory Pilot Project approved by NSW Government August 2014. AGL final investment decision expected late 2015 |
|
Gloucester Gas Project stage 2 and beyond |
CSG |
AGL |
No |
Yes – commentary |
Unknown (as at June 2015) |
Unknown (as at June 2015) |
PEL 285 |
Included in 454c for Gloucester Basin exploration to December 2013 |
Conceptual only as at June 2015. Mainly west and south of stage 1 |
aIndicates the different resource classes that may combine to form the total resource tonnage – typically these are reported in accordance with the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Code. For example, the different JORC resource classes of measured, indicated and inferred resources could be shown (or whichever combination of resource classes is applicable for each project).
bproved plus probable reserves
cResource figure is for the entire life of the project.
EL = exploration licence; PEL = petroleum exploration licence; ML = mining lease
CSG = coal seam gas
Locations for the Stratford and Duralie operating mines were extracted from the OZMIN database (Geoscience Australia, Dataset 1). The location of Rocky Hill coal deposit and AGL’s Stage 1 gas field development area were obtained from publicly available company documents.
These timelines have been used in the bioregional assessment hydrological modelling for the Gloucester subregion in 2015.
It should be noted that as at November 2015, the Rocky Hill development is on hold with the NSW Government and AGL’s Stage 1 gas field development area awaits final investment decision by AGL. While AGL withdrew from their proposed Gloucester Gas Project in December 2015, as per the companion submethodology M04, the CRDP was not re-visited.
The coal resource developments in the CRDP are equal to the sum of those in the baseline and ACRD.
Baseline = baseline coal resource development, a future that includes all coal mines and coal seam gas (CSG) fields that were commercially producing under an operations plan approved as of December 2012
CRDP = coal resource development pathway, a future that includes all coal mines and coal seam gas (CSG) fields that are in the baseline as well as those that are expected to begin commercial production after December 2012
ACRD = additional coal resource development, all coal mines and coal seam gas fields, including expansion of baseline operations, that are expected to begin commercial production after December 2012
Figure 12 Coal seam gas exclusion zones in the Gloucester subregion
CSG = coal seam gas
Data: Strategic Agricultural Lands (NSW Government, 2013)
