Adani’s Australian arm strikes coal at Carmichael mine

Adani’s Australian arm strikes coal at Carmichael mine

Subject : Economy / Geography

Context : The Adani group struck first coal from its Carmichael, Australia project on Thursday and will start shipping to its customers according to schedule. With this, the project will not only lift the economic prospects of the hitherto barren Australian outback, but also help Indian power plants to source cheap coal.

Concept :

• The Carmichael coal mine is a proposed thermal coal mine in the Galilee Basin in Queensland, Australia.
• The mine is proposed by Adani Mining, a wholly owned subsidiary of India’s Adani Group.

Project components:

• The mine is planned to contain six open-cut pits and five underground mines.
• A new rail line is needed to transport coal to port facilities. The proposal includes a new 190 km rail line to connect with the existing Goonyella railway line.
• Exports are to leave the country via port facilities at Hay Point and Abbot Point after being transported to the coast via rail. Most of the exported coal is planned to be shipped to India. This requires significant port expansion.
• Proposed benefits: It would be the largest coal mine in Australia and one of the largest in the world. At peak capacity the mine would produce 60 million tonnes of coal a year. Over the 60 years, the mine is expected to produce 2.3 billion tonnes.
• Opposition to project: The mine has drawn immense controversy about its

claimed economic benefits,

financial viability,

plans for government subsidy and

the potential damaging environmental impacts upon the Great Barrier Reef, groundwater at its site and its carbon emissions.