Australia’s government is continuing to "carefully consider" whether to allow a mining company to destroy 770 hectares of endangered koala habitat.
If fully approved, resources company Vitrinite would be permitted to construct its Vulcan South mine in Queensland's Bowen Basin and extract 13.5 million tonnes of coal over a nine-year period. Around 70 hectares of greater glider habitat would also be cleared. That species was declared endangered in 2020 after their numbers plummeted 80 per cent in just two decades after the ancient trees they nest in were destroyed.
Behind the application is privately owned resources company Vitrinite which claims to be a “young, progressive” company” with an “open and collaborative attitude, inward and outward”. It has not responded to repeated requests for comment from Yahoo News.
Government 'carefully considering' new mine application's impact on koalas
Opponents of the project, including Lock the Gate, had hoped Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek would immediately reject the application, but in March she instead referred the matter for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EBPC) so the impact of the project on threatened species could be further assessed.
Michael Dahlstrom, Environment Editor, Yahoo! News, Mon, 15 April 2024