It is seven years since Chinese-owned Shenhua paid $300 million for an exploration licence for 20,000 hectares at Breeza.
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Yesterday, the company was finally on its way to clearing the last hurdle, but said it would now be checking to see if the project is still viable.
RELATED COVERAGE: Shenhua showdown
Shenhua Australia Chairman Liu Xiang said the approval was the culmination of more than five years of “unprecedented scientific scrutiny”.
“With the formal assessment now concluded, we can begin the next phase of the project, to put in place the strict operating conditions required by both levels of government,” he said.
“Our immediate priority is to carefully review the Commonwealth approval conditions to determine if they will have any impact on the project’s technical feasibility and economic viability.”
Shenhua Watermark project manager Paul Jackson said yesterday Mr Hunt’s decision reflected advice from a number of independent experts.
“Today’s decision to approve the Watermark Project is the final, irrefutable confirmation there will be no adverse impacts on the region’s groundwater and impacts on sensitive ecological areas have been appropriately managed and offset,” Mr Jackson said.
“The minister’s decision relies on one of the most comprehensive groundwater studies undertaken in NSW and demonstrates mining can co-exist with agriculture while unlocking new opportunities for employment and economic growth in regional Australia.
“Mr Hunt’s approval is the final piece in an overwhelming body of evidence showing the Watermark Project will not harm the region’s valuable agricultural enterprises,” Mr Jackson said.
“After years of rigorous and scientific assessment, it is time to put aside emotive arguments and acknowledge the science clearly shows the project should proceed,”Mr Jackson said.
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