Abbot Point dumping leaves coal producers on the hook

Scientists have warned coal producers expanding export terminals at the Port of Abbot Point, and Queensland taxpayers face up to $800 million in remediation costs if they push ahead with plans to dump mud near the Great Barrier Reef, according to the Australian Financial Review.

The North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation (NQBP) a government-owned corporation that oversees Abbot Point, is developing a so-called “offset” plan to counter the impact of dumping up to 3 million cubic metres of mud in the Great Barrier Reef marine park following dredging of the sea bed to expand the port.

NQBP has not yet provided estimates on how much the plan will cost but the chief research scientist for James Cook University Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, Jon Brodie, said costs could run between $500 million and $800 million.

The plan, which involves reducing the amount of mud and other sediment that flows into the sea from the nearby Burdekin and Don rivers, was one of the conditions imposed by the federal government after Environment Minister Greg Hunt approved the dredging in December.

BHP happy to trail Rio in driverless road and rail

BHP Billiton iron ore boss Jimmy Wilson says when it comes to breaking new ground on technology in the mining industry, the company is happy to “be first to be second”, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Wilson said Rio Tinto is ahead of BHP on autonomous trucks and rail in the Pilbara, but that for any technology, the second generation is always better than the first.

“We don’t have a deep desire to be first,” Wilson said. “We do have the need, however, to exploit the value that technology brings quickly and we would hate to see a competitor have that advantage for an extended period of time. We don’t foresee that in either autonomous trucks or rail.”

BHP can “take some of the lessons that others have learnt” globally from employing autonomous technology, including work by Rio Tinto and Chinalco, he said.

Santos fails to meet deadline to fast-track Narrabri CSG play

Santos has missed a key deadline in its memorandum of understanding with the NSW government to fast-track a development decision and provide investment certainty for the trouble-plagued Narrabri coal-seam gas project, according to The Australian.

Under the terms of the agreement signed by Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner and Santos vice-president James Baulderstone in February, the company was due to lodge an environmental impact statement for the Pilliga project by June 30.