The proposed Adani coal mine, which will be Australia’s largest, has been granted unlimited groundwater access by the Queensland government.
According to a copy of Adani’s water license, the $16 billion Carmichael mine merely needs to monitor and report the amount of water it extracts under a permit that runs until 2077.
The water license allows the mine which is proposed for the Galilee Basin west of Rockhampton to conduct its own review of its groundwater model without any independent or government oversight. According to an accompanying environmental impact statement, the mine will pump 26 million litres of water a day from its pits by 2029 as it pushes annual production to 60 million tonnes.
There are no specified impact levels that will prompt a halt to mining, and the company will be able to offset significant water loss elsewhere, the license shows.
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