SHENHUA Watermark has cleared another major hurdle in its bid to build a $1 billion open-cut coalmine on the Liverpool Plains.
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The independent Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) announced it had approved the controversial project on Thursday afternoon.
The decision means the project must now only secure Commonwealth endorsement under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to proceed.
The Chinese state-owned company is seeking to extract up to 10 million tonnes of coal a year from deposits at Breeza, south of Gunnedah.
A workforce of up to 600 full-time workers will be hired during the construction phase, with about 430 workers to be employed once production commences.
Shenhua Watermark project manager Paul Jackson said the announcement marked the final step of a "long journey" through the NSW approvals process.
"It has not been without challenges and both PACs have undertaken rigorous examinations of key aspects of the project to confirm there will be no impacts on the wider agricultural production of the adjacent Liverpool Plains," he said.
"We have been subjected to detailed investigations at every step of the journey and the community can have confidence our assessments have been tested and confirmed by an independent panel of experts who have scrutinised every aspect of the project."
However, the decision is a bitter blow to farmers, environmentalists and many Liverpool Plains residents who lobbied fiercely against the mine.
They claim the mine could do untold damage to the area's network of aquifers and impact on agricultural production in the Liverpool Plains.
See tomorrow's edition of The Leader for the full story and local reaction.