Winchester South Project - Whitehaven Coal

About the project
Local benefits
Impact assessment
Location
Regulatory documents
Assessment process
Suppliers – register your interest
Timeline
Contacts

Growing our presence in Queensland

Winchester South is a proposed new open-cut coal mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, which has been recommended to proceed by the Queensland Government's Coordinator General, subject to conditions.

It will produce a primary metallurgical coal product to make steel and a secondary thermal coal product for energy generation – and create about 500 jobs.

The mine will produce up to 17 million tonnes per annum of run-of-mine (ROM) production to supply the international market.

Located 30km south-east of Moranbah, the project will involve the construction of a coal processing plant and a rail loop to connect with the existing Bowen Basin coal rail network. As it is in a well-established coal region, the site has direct access to key rail and port infrastructure, providing multiple coal export options.

The project was declared a Coordinated Project by the Queensland Government, recognising the potential strategic significance of the project locally, regionally and to the state of Queensland more broadly.

On 23 November 2023, the Queensland Government’s Coordinator General recommended the project to proceed, subject to conditions, following an extensive assessment process.

In February 2024, the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) approved the Winchester South Coal Mine Draft Environmental Authority.

Key benefits

500

jobs during construction
and operations

$254m

in additional wages into the community (NPV terms)

$5.7bn

to QLD suppliers (NPV terms)

30 year
mine life

supplying international markets

$882m

additional net economic benefit to QLD (NPV terms)

$696m

in royalties to the QLD Government (NPV terms)

$1bn

investment

Metallurgical coal for steelmaking and thermal coal for
energy generation

Refining the project
in response to feedback

As part of the comprehensive State and Federal Government assessment process, we’ve carefully studied potential impacts, seeking and incorporating feedback from a wide range of stakeholders. We have developed a design that seeks to avoid, minimise or offset environmental and other impacts.

The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) outlines the project design, potential environmental and socio-economic impacts, and the prospective benefits.

Following public feedback, we have refined the project to further improve environmental and social outcomes. Key features of the refined design include:

Fully abating Scope 2 emissions through the purchase of carbon neutral electricity
Reducing the number of final voids from four to three and proposing a final land use of agricultural water storage for the three residual voids

On 7 July 2023, the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was formally accepted by the Coordinator-General as the final EIS for the project, enabling the Coordinator-General to prepare a report evaluating the EIS.

On 23 November 2023, the Queensland Government’s Coordinator General recommended the project to proceed, subject to conditions.

Read the Coordinator-General’s evaluation report and the full EIS here.

READ THE FULL EIS

Respecting the
local environment

The project will meet the strict environmental guidelines set out by the Queensland and Federal Governments. We’ve worked to identify and minimise environmental impacts, and key features include:

The project will have minimal impacts to air quality, noise and water quality and supply to surrounding landowners
No impact on nearby strategic cropping areas
We will rehabilitate the land progressively as we mine, and after mining, there will be no residual voids in the Isaac River floodplain
The area will be rehabilitated for agricultural use, with residual voids proposed to be used for agricultural water storage
Biodiversity impacts would be offset in accordance with government guidelines.

Read the full EIS

Working with
the community

We’ve worked closely with a range of stakeholders to ensure the project and our approach align with local community expectations, including State Government regulatory, consent and coordination authorities, local landowners, the Barada Barna Aboriginal Corporation, neighbouring mine owners and relevant infrastructure and service providers.

Importantly, our first local agreement was the Cultural Heritage Management Plan with the Barada Barna People, which outlines how we will work together to manage cultural heritage artefacts or sites located within the project area.

As outlined in the EIS, the project will provide a boost to local communities and return millions in royalties to the Queensland economy each year. We are also making significant financial and community commitments, including to build new houses in Moranbah to support the growing local workforce.

Prioritising local employment

As an Australian company, and over our more than two decades of operation in the Gunnedah Basin in NSW, we have a proud history of prioritising jobs for local communities.

Currently around 75% of our workforce lives in the communities around our NSW operations. This is an approach we’ll seek to continue at Winchester South.

We also seek to empower local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and will seek to maximise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment at Winchester South.

Read more about our employment initiatives here.

Location

Regional location

Project location

Resources and Reserves

In April 2022, Whitehaven released its updated Resources and Reserves Statement for the Winchester South Project in accordance with the JORC Code (2012).

The Project has JORC Resources of 1,100Mt and JORC Reserves of 380Mt.

LEARN MORE

Assessment process

Application

Whitehaven lodges:
• Initial Advice Statement (IAS) as part of the application for declaration as a Coordinated Project.
• Application with the Department of Environment and Science (DES) for an Environmental Authority.
• Referral to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE).
Terms of Reference

Coordinator-General releases draft Terms of Reference for review by the public and State and Federal agencies, including DES and DAWE. The Coordinator-General considers submissions and finalises the Terms of Reference.
Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Whitehaven prepares a draft EIS to address the Terms of Reference and requirements of the SDPWO Act and EPBC Act.
Submission

Whitehaven submits the draft EIS for assessment.
Review

Coordinator-General reviews draft EIS and prepares for public exhibition.
Public Notification

Draft EIS placed on public notification. The public and State and Federal agencies review EIS.
Coordinator General's evaluation report

Coordinator-General requests additional information (if required) and releases evaluation report. If the Project is approved, the evaluation report includes approval conditions.
Environmental Authority and Mining Lease

DES issues an Environmental Authority and Department of Resources (DOR) issues Mining Lease(s) consistent with the Coordinator-General’s approval conditions.
Commonwealth Determination

DAWE considers the Coordinator-General’s Evaluation Report and provides a determination of the Project. If approved, DAWE imposes additional conditions.

Register your interest

If you’re interested in supplying goods or services to Whitehaven Coal, please complete the following form.

Register

Timeline

FY18

Winchester South acquired from Rio Tinto Coal Australia (75%) and Scentre Group (25%)

FY19

First JORC Coal Resources declared

FY19

Winchester South declared a Coordinated Project by QLD Government

FY21

Maiden JORC Coal Reserves declared and Coal Resources updated

FY22

Draft EIS public consultation

FY23

Refined EIS public consultation

FY24

Coordinator General’s evaluation report finalised

Contacts