The environmental assessment has now been lodged with the Department of Planning.

According to the proposed mine plan, now open to public exhibition, the project will see longwall mining starting in 2017 with completion around 2022, ensuring the continuity of the company’s Bulga underground operations.

The plans for Blakefield North also include an extension and reorientation of some longwall blocks and main heading roadways beyond the conceptual mine plan footprint identified in its 2003 environmental impact statement.

The revised Blakefield longwall layout is located directly beneath already mined longwalls in the overlying Whybrow seam.

“The proposed changes to the mining layout and sequence are a result of improved understanding of the geology and geotechnical regime and interactions with the Bulga surface operations,” the project EA says.

“The number of longwalls proposed to be extracted in the Blakefield North underground mine has been reduced from 12 to seven.

“The reduction in the number of longwall panels results from the panel extraction widths being as per the 400m width [from 265m previously] approved in the 2003 EIS.”

Mining of approved Blakefield North longwalls BB1-5 has already partially occurred as part of the open cut operations.

“The revised mine plan will not result in changes to the existing coal production rates for the Blakefield seam in the Blakefield North underground mine,” the EA states.

“There will be no change to the approved annual run of mine coal production rate for the Bulga underground operations from the maximum of 14 million tonnes per annum.

“There will also be no change to the approved total coal mined at the BUO.”

The company is also seeking increased pre and post-mining gas drainage and drilling infrastructure above the longwall panels.

Also, construction of a gas drainage plant at the top of the Blakefield South Whybrow open cut highwall will include a goaf vacuum plant, gas compressors, workshop, offices, hardstand areas, buried pipelines and associated infrastructure.

Five goaf extraction unit flares and five pre-mining gas drainage flares are proposed for relocation to the gas drainage plant.

Blakefield is seeking to modify mine ventilation, including relocation of two approved ventilation fans to the base of the open cut highwall within a new access slot.

It is also seeking to change coal clearance infrastructure for the clearance of coal during development by the trucking of coal through the open cut to the existing Blakefield South ROM stockpile.