The approval also covered the 388km rail project to link the open cut and underground project to Adani’s Abbot Point coal terminal 25km north of Bowen on the coast, which needs to be expanded to reach 60Mtpa of export capacity.

Mining will involve the development of six open pits and five underground mines over 60 years, with the first surface operation planned for 2016 with a production rate of 5.5Mmtpa.

Initial longwall production from the first underground mine is expected to reach 2.5Mtpa run-of-mine in 2018.

In his approval, Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the mine, at full export capacity, would contribute almost $930 million per annum to the Mackay region and $2.97 billion to the Queensland economy.

With an estimated lifetime resource value of at least $300 billion, development of this pioneering Galilee Basin project is also expected to create 2475 construction jobs and 3920 jobs during the operational phase.

Contrary to Greenpeace claims, Hunt said he met the matters raised by the Independent Expert Scientific Committee.

“I personally visited the site with the head of the IESC, and have incorporated all of her suggestions in the conditions,” he said.

The federal approval also came with various, often groundwater-related conditions to bolster those set by the Queensland environmental approval in May.

“These 36 conditions complement the conditions imposed by the Queensland Government, and will ensure the proponent meets the highest environmental standards and that all impacts, including cumulative impacts, are avoided, mitigated or offset,” Hunt said.

“I am pleased that we have been able to apply some of the strictest environment conditions in Australian history as part of this decision.”

The approval also potentially puts Adani at the front of the race to commercialise the Galilee Basin, with giant coal projects involving billionaires Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart forming part of the nine main projects in this region so far.

When combined, the Rinehart-linked GVK Hancock group’s three Galilee Basin projects could already create one of the largest coal mining operations in the world, holding total resources of 8 billion tonnes and peak capacity of about 80 million tonnes per annum.

Adani has also pursued a vertically integrated commercialisation model for its plans to export Galilee thermal coal and transform it into much-needed electricity for up to 100 million people in India, making its plans more linked to this undersupplied market than global thermal coal prices.

Reactions

Queensland Resources Council CEO Michael Roche was looking forward to the jobs bonanza from the Carmichael development.

“Adani’s Carmichael mine, rail and port infrastructure will drive thousands of new jobs and opportunities for Queenslanders in construction and permanent operational jobs for decades to come.

“Regional communities including Alpha, Clermont, Emerald, Bowen, Moranbah, Mackay, Rockhampton and Townsville are all expected to benefit from the development of the so-far untapped resources in the Galilee Basin.”

He also warned that activists would continue their “disrupt and delay” campaign against the project, despite the hard work and scientific rigour which went into the approval.

“We have seen activist groups begin litigation as part of their strategy to delay projects from starting, thus preventing local communities across regional Queensland seeing the benefits flow sooner,” Roche said.

Greenpeace said Hunt’s approval “laid out the red carpet for a coal company with a shocking track record to dig up the outback, dump on the Great Barrier Reef and fuel climate change”.

Australian Marine Conservation Society campaigner Felicity Wishart said the Carmichael approval was bad news for the Great Barrier Reef, because the plans to expand Abbot Point would increase shipping in the region.

“At full capacity, there will be a further 480 ships crossing the reef, in an area home to humpback whales, sea turtles and dugongs,” she told the Australian edition of The Guardian.

“And then there’s the impact of the dredging. The Great Barrier Reef is particularly vulnerable to climate change so we need to be doing everything we can to reduce that pressure on it.”