Central Queensland graziers already battling the twin threats of Adani and a crippling drought have been dealt yet another blow with the approval by the Queensland Government of the water hungry mega mine, China Stone.
Lock the Gate spokesperson Carmel Flint said greenlighting another massive thermal coal project in the Galilee Basin was a terrible move for water security, even without taking into account the huge increase in carbon emissions the project would produce.
“This mine will double the take of water from local rivers - with this company seeking another 12.5 billion litres of river water each year - about 5000 Olympic sized swimming pools and on top of the 12.5 billion litres which Adani plan to take,” she said.
“MacMines has not even identified which river system it will come from and has done no environmental assessment, but the Coordinator General suggests the water is likely to come from the Belyando/Suttor River system.
“That is the same system from which Adani will take its water, which large numbers of landholders rely on.
“This mine will also drain massive volumes of groundwater each year, with more than 5.8 billion litres of water flowing into the mine each year, and it is likely to affect 17 private bores.
“Lock the Gate is calling for an urgent assessment of the full cumulative impact of all the Galilee Basin mines on river water, especially in the context of a changing climate and more severe droughts” she said.
