Prepared by an undisclosed industry contractor, the union said the paper indicated that BMA aimed to restart the 2012-closed mine in July.

“BMA has strongly indicated that success of the project will be dependent on being able to operate the mine efficiently while using labour that is paid significantly less than is currently the case at surrounding existing operations,” the leaked document stated, according to the CFMEU.

“A strong desire has been expressed that labour should be sourced from lower paying areas outside of Queensland (Adelaide, Melbourne for example). They are likely to try and leverage off the labour model used at Norwich Park to generate lower cost labour models at their other operations.”

CFMEU mining and energy general secretary Andrew Vickers jumped on the findings.

“Four hundred skilled Queensland mineworkers were put out of work when BHP closed Norwich Park in 2012,” Vickers said.

“Now it appears that Queenslanders from Dysart or Moranbah or Mackay will have to relocate to Melbourne or Adelaide if they want to work at a local coal mine.

“It’s no coincidence that BHP is now planning to reopen the mine exactly three years after closing it, to avoid legal requirements to hire back the local workers it ruthlessly dumped.

“This was always their plan. BHP is playing Queenslanders for fools – denying them the jobs and royalties they deserve from Queensland resources.”

While the union did not provide a copy of the leaked paperwork, CFMEU mining and energy division Queensland district president Stephen Smyth had seen the tender document and summarised key aspects of it.

“The main one is using a contractor paying less wages and conditions including the use of labour hire,” he told ICN on Friday.

“They will also use the FIFO process from interstate relying on the tax benefits for the flights. The other aspect is to use this model for other BMA operations into the future.

“Workers elsewhere interstate would be happy to have a job in a mine. What happened to local jobs for local workers?”

A significant BMA enterprise agreement in the state is also set to expire in October with union negotiations expected at the end of the year.

“They are testing the water for that and other agreements,” Smyth said.

In a statement issued to International Coal News, a BHP spokesperson said: “In April 2012 BMA announced the cessation of production at Norwich Park mine.

“We can confirm that there will be no restart of Norwich Park in the immediate future and any recommencement of production would be subject to circumstances including an assessment of short and long term options.”

Smyth challenged BHP’s response in a later statement.

“When asked directly today whether the company had invited tenders for the operation of Norwich Park with a preference for interstate labour BHP refused to deny it,” he said.

“What they said was ‘any recommencement of production is subject to establishing a viable basis for the medium and long term option of the mine’

“What they meant was ‘yes, we’re scoping out ways to reopen the mine without any Queensland workers, we’re sorry we got caught out’.”

BMA, owned 50:50 by BHP and Mitsubishi, has already received considerable criticism for launching the Daunia and Caval Ridge coal mines in Central Queensland on a 100% FIFO basis.