Despite years of intense protesting by activists, Whitehaven’s controversial Maules Creek mine was officially opened today by NSW Premier Mike Baird.
NSW Minerals Council CEO, Stephen Galilee said the Premier’s presence at the opening was a welcoming sign of the government’s support of the project.
“Today’s official opening of the Maules Creek project is a positive sign for economic opportunity and job creation in a region that has a long and proud history of coal mining going back to to late 1800s,” Mr Galilee said
“It’s also a positive sign for the NSW mining industry that this project has been completed ahead of schedule and budget, despite the attempts of a small group of activists to stop the mine from proceeding.”
One of the largest mines ever built in NSW, the Maules Creek mine is expected to directly employ 470 workers when fully operational and produce around 13 million tonnes of coal a year, over 30 years.
Mr Galilee said around 80% of the workforce of Maules Creek is drawn from local communities and the company expects to inject around $126 million in wages a year into the Gunnedah region once the mine is fully operational.
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