Whitehaven Coal’s Narrabri Underground extension project is seeking to extend the life of its existing Narrabri thermal coal mine for another 13 years through to 2044. The mine is located in Gomeroi country, near Narrabri NSW in the Gunnedah coal field adjacent to the Pilliga state forest. The project will mine an additional 110 million tonnes of coal, increasing the total Run of Mine (ROM) coal mined from 170 million to 280 million tonnes.
The project is planning to clear nearly 500 hectares of koala habitat with approximately 235 hectares of this habitat being defined by Whitehaven as ‘core habitat’.
Whitehaven has been quilty of countless environmental crimes, including stealing water, illegally trashing cultural heritage sites, and injuring workers near their Maules Creek mine, causing long term health problems.
The proposed mine expansion threatens the Pilliga state forest, a highly significant cultural site for the Gomeroi people. The mine is predicted to possibly destroy a number of significant Goemieri cultural sites, including a major grinding groove site used by Gomeroi people.
The Narrabri coal expansion will directly emit an average of 1.5m tonnes of CO2-equivalent a year, making it the dirtiest thermal coal mine in Australia (and in the top 4 most polluting coal mines in Australia). Almost all of those direct emissions occur from the release of methane when the coal is mined (scope 1 emissions). Between now and 2050, all of Whitehaven’s coal mines will release over 1.2 million tonnes of super-polluting methane. Experts from global climate and energy think tank Ember estimate that
Narrabri's methane emissions are worse than adding 56 million cars on the road, undoing significant investment and efforts by regular Australians to cut climate pollution.
You can support local groups WANDO Conservation & Cultural Centre and Lock the Gate to help stop this koala killing project
