Ellensfield coal mine project

The proponent for the Ellensfield Coal Mine Project is Ellensfield Coal Management Pty Ltd, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rio Doce Australia Pty Ltd.

The project is located in the Bowen Basin (within the Isaac Regional Council area) approximately 35 kilometres (km) north-east of Moranbah and approximately 175 km west of Mackay. It lies on the northern side of the Peak Downs Highway, approximately midway between Coppabella and Moranbah. The project is also located within the headwaters of the Teviot Brook Catchment approximately 16 km upstream of the Isaac River. The project is located wholly within Mining Lease Application 70393.

On 7 August 2007 the proponent applied to prepare a Voluntary Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under Chapter 3 of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act). On 13 August 2007, the then Environmental Protection Agency approved that application.

The status of the process for the assessment of the EIS for the Ellensfield Coal Mine Project is:

  1. Submission of draft TOR
  2. Public notification of draft TOR
  3. Final TOR issued—EIS in preparation
  4. Public notification of EIS
  5. Proponent responds to submissions
  6. EIS assessment report

The EIS assessment report was issued to Ellensfield Coal Management Pty Ltd on 4 December 2012, completing the EIS process under Chapter 3, Part 1 of the EP Act.

Before the project can proceed, the proponent will need to apply for and obtain an environmental authority for the project under the EP Act.

Commonwealth assessment process

This project was determined to be a controlled action under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The controlling provisions related to listed threatened species and communities. The EIS assessment report contains an assessment of the significance of impacts of the action on the controlling provisions. A copy of the EIS assessment report has been given to the Commonwealth Environment Minister, who will decide whether to approve or refuse the controlled action under Part 9 of the EPBC Act.

Further information

Publicly available documents:

For further information about the EIS process for the Ellensfield Coal Mine Project, contact the EIS Coordinator or telephone 13 74 68 (13 QGOV).

Available from the library catalogue

The documents referred to on this page are available from the department’s online library catalogue.