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Agencies

Indian mining giant Adani on Tuesday said it will start work on a huge US$16 billion coal project that environmentalists warn will damage Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Adani, which hoped to secure a AUD$900 million ($670 million) government loan, said in a statement it had given “final investment decision approval” to build what would be Australia’s biggest coal mine.
“We are committed to this project,” Adani Chairman Gautam Adani said.
The Carmichael mine has faced years of delays amid opposition from environment groups who argue it will contribute to global warming and damage the Great Barrier Reef, leading some banks to rule out any role in funding.
“Announcing an intention to invest is a far cry from having the finance to do so,” said Julien Vincent, executive director of environmental finance organisation Market Forces. Greenpeace Australia Pacific said the announcement was a “PR stunt”.

We are still facing activists. But we are committed to this project
Gautam Adani
The project is located in the remote Galilee Basin, a 247,000 square-kilometre expanse in the central outback that some believe has the potential to become Australia’s largest coal-producing region.
Adani said the project would create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, with pre-construction works starting in the next few months. Coal from the mine will be exported to India.
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Australia’s third biggest state had been hit by a global resources downturn and Adani’s decision would help mining firms.
Adani’s decision “is a vote of confidence not just in the Queensland economy, but in Queensland people”, she said.
The conglomerate forecasts it will produce 60 million tonnes of thermal coal a year for export.
Adani hit out at activists who have challenged the project for years.
“We have been challenged by activists in the courts, in inner city streets, and even outside banks that have not even been approached to finance the project,” he said.

“We are still facing activists. But we are committed to this project.
“We are committed to regional Queensland and we are committed to addressing energy poverty in India.”
Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan also brushed off activist concerns, saying they should remember the “quarter billion Indians who don’t have electricity at all”.
“It is about providing a benefit to those people to have electricity and bring them from the suffering of poverty and disadvantage,” he said.
“That does a lot more for the world, our globe, our environment, than anyone tweeting in air-conditioned rooms in Sydney who might be opposed to it.”
Earlier this year a group of prominent Australians urged Adani to abandon the mine.
Signatories to an open letter included former Australian Test cricket captains Ian and Greg Chappell, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks, Australian-based British comedian Ben Elton, and rock group Midnight Oil.
They cited public opposition, risks to miners’ health, the potential impact on the reef, and India’s reputation as reasons not to proceed.
Reuters, Agence France-Presse


India's Adani to start work on Australia’s biggest coal mine near Great Barrier Reef

Adani has faced opposition over concern that coal project will risk damage to the Great Barrier Reef marine park in northern Queensland

(FILES) This file photo taken on December 23, 2010 shows Chairman of the Adani Group Gautam Adani speaking during a press conference in Ahmedabad. Indian mining giant Adani on June 6, 2017 said it would go ahead with a huge US$16 billion coal project near Australia's Great Barrier Reef that has been widely criticised by environmentalists. / AFP PHOTO / Sam PANTHAKY

epaselect epa05987992 Environmental activists voice their opposition to Indian miner Adani's proposed Carmichael coal mine, outside Parliament House in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 25 May 2017. The protesters called on the Queensland government to block a billion-dollar federal loan to Adani. EPA/DAN PELED AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

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Adani has faced opposition over concern that coal project will risk damage to the Great Barrier Reef marine park in northern Queensland


India's Adani to start work on Australia’s biggest coal mine near Great Barrier Reef

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Adani has faced opposition over concern that coal project will risk damage to the Great Barrier Reef marine park in northern Queensland

Adani has faced opposition over concern that coal project will risk damage to the Great Barrier Reef marine park in northern Queensland