Donaldson Coal has proposed to establish the underground coal mine south of the existing Donaldson opencut mine, off the existing highwall.
The mine would extract up to 4.5 million tonnes per annum of run of mine (ROM) coal for a period of 21 years, using continuous miners in bord and pillar systems.
Cessnock councillor James Ryan told ABC Newcastle his submission on the mine raises concerns about subsidence and the contribution to global warming.
“There's a large amount of subsidence around the Blackhill area stretching back to Pambalong Nature Reserve at Stockrington and this mine is going to mine, I believe, about 4.5 million tonnes of coal per year, which when you translate it will be another 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere,” he said.
