New South Wales Planning Minister Tony Kelly signed off on the approval this week, which allows the Ulan complex to double production from its previous limit of up to 10 million tonnes per annum.

Under the approval the resumption of open cut mining at Ulan cannot extract more than 4.1Mtpa of raw coal while the whole complex cannot export more than 20Mt in a calendar year.

The project approval also simplifies administrative matters for the coal company.

The Ulan mine previously operated under 24 separate development consents but the approval this week covers all of the surface and underground work ahead.

Total construction of Ulan West and the open cut extension is expected to employ 270 workers while the operational workforce of the finished mining complex is expected to hit 931, some 401 more than the existing Ulan longwall operation.

An Xstrata spokesman told ILN the company was pleased with the project approval and will continue the various processes required to bring the new operations online.

A total of 238.6Mt will be extracted from the Ulan seam under the continued operations project with another 93Mt slated for the existing Ulan No.3 longwall at depths of 200-330m.

The Ulan West longwall is approved to extract 126Mt at the shallower depths of 80m to 225m.

The longwall panel widths will be 400m.

The open cut extension will unearth 19Mt of coal at depths of 30m to 110m in a dragline, truck and loader operation.

The approval allows Xstrata to beef up the coal handling and processing plant to process up to 24.1Mtpa of raw coal.

While Ulan West can run until the end of August, 2031, the open cut extension is expected to run for 7 to 11 years while the Ulan No.3 longwall is expected to go for up to 18 more years under the proposed mining sequence.

To cater to the future ramp-up, the Planning Department has also allowed Ulan to send up to 10 fully laden coal trains per day with the previous peak at two trains per day.

While Xstrata previously noted that Ulan West development would cost $US1.1 billion, the Planning Department said the Ulan continued operations project was an $881 million capital investment.

Overcoming opposition

The Planning Department has received 44 submissions on the project with none of the seven made from public authorities objecting to it going ahead.

All but one of the remaining 37 submissions from the general public and special interest groups opposed it.

Objections were raised over the project’s potential impact on water, biodiversity, greenhouse gas, noise, transport and air quality.

There was also resistance to the project’s cumulative impacts in the region, as Yancoal Australia’s emerging Moolarben mine is adjacent to the southeast and Peabody’s planned and giant Wilpinjong mine is next door to the eastern end of that operation.

But the department is satisfied with the constraints it has placed under the Ulan project approval, with the ramped up operation expected to have significant subsidence impacts on one privately owned property and to clear 409 hectares of vegetation.

Xstrata is also expected to formalise its offer to pay the Mid Western Regional Council $4.525 million by the end of June 2011.

First longwall coal from Ulan West project is expected in 2014 while an Xstrata spokesman recently told ILN the existing Ulan No.3 longwall has “a good 10 years left”