HVO North Open Cut Coal Continuation Project

I am in support of the HVO North OC continuation. The future of the Hunter Valley as well as NSW as a whole will benifit from the ongoing operation in regards to direct and indirect employment,community support, economic growth and infrastructure.

We should continue to mine with good environmental management

I feel HVO continuation is vital, not only for singleton and surrounding regions but also for my family. Business and community in the local area rely on companies like HVO to support them in to the future.

Continuation will allow me to continue providing for my family

HVO north have all my support in their request for continuation of their project. They have been mining here for many years and have proved their impact on the environment is minimal. Whilst working on this project they also offer support through their workplace giving, sponsorship and community grants program.

This project supports thousands of jobs and benefits our community enormously!

I support the HVO North Open Cut Continuation Project. HVO is a responsible and compliant company. The continuation of this operation is important for local communities and families.

HVO is my current employer and allows to me to provide for my family and enjoy a good life. They are a great company to be employed by and are a good supporter of the local community.

The HVO North Open Cut Coal Continuation Project needs to be passed to ensure the job security for all that work directly for HVO.
HVO supports the community in grants and donations and the local surrounding towns and communities need the income from the workers to survive.
With out the continuation project workers will have to leave the area as a lot of coal mines in the Hunter are closing down and will have no other option then to leave.
HVO has a commitment to the Community and Environment. As a mine worker at HVO I have seen this first hand and am proud to say that I work at HVO.
Please consider all the information before making a final discission and how a negative decision can impact the community and businesses in the wider Hunter Valley area.

Regards Craig Berry

HVO mine has provided me and my family with a stable life and the opportunity to live and raise a family in the upper hunter, I'm currently employed at HVO and without HVO I would be looking for another career and possibly moving away from the local area.

I support the continuation project at hvo. This is beneficial to the whole community and economy.
Please approve

I support the hvo continuation project. It’s great for the community and economy. Please approve

we need coal for power or we will have blackouts and also we need jobs

I am proud to support the HVO North Open Cut Coal Continuation Project. The mine has been operating for 70 years, providing continuous employment for the local community. I understand there will be little change to the scale or intensity of mining and no increase to approved annual production rates.

HVO has always effectively and efficiently managed community impacts.

My family has been involved in local coal mining for generations. My grandfather, father, brothers, husband and son were and are all proud mine workers.

The coal mining industry in the Hunter Valley provides employment for all levels of expertise. My father looked after pit ponies at Stockrington Mine, my husband was an engineer in coal preparation and my son is currently manager of a local mine.

Having lived in Singleton, I see a community supported by various mining companies. I see many small businesses shooting up in the area providing support to the coal mining industry by way of either consumables or expertise.

The town of Singleton was largely a farming community until mining commenced here. This resulted in shopping centres going up, Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and Bunnings to name a few, coming to our town.

I see no downside to the HVO North Open Cut Coal Continuation Project, only positives with regard to local jobs and mining royalties adding to state revenue. Without coal mining, how would we continue to fund our hospitals, schools, police, etc?

I fully support the HVO North Open Cut Coal Continuation Project.

I’m working for HVO North through a contracting company and would like to get a permanent position in this company that is going to see me out for another 20 years. Great company that puts a lot back into the community.

HVO will:
• provide around 1500 ongoing local jobs and 600 temporary jobs while upgrading infrastructure
• support suppliers and businesses – HVO spends more than $500 million annually with more than 700 suppliers, many of them local
• support community groups and charities through its community grants, charity partnerships and fundraising, workplace giving and sponsorship programs
• support governments to provide hospitals, schools, roads and other community infrastructure through taxes and royalties.
My small family business relies on mining to feed my children.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions
1. The most polluting project in NSW since the Paris Agreement: Glencore and
Yancoal’s Hunter Valley Operations Continuation Project would be responsible for 1.2
billion tonnes of total carbon emissions and is the single largest new coal project
proposed in NSW since the Paris Agreement.
2. Eight new coal mine proposals in the NSW planning system right now (which are all
likely to determined in 2023) represent the largest increase of new coal capacity
proposed in NSW since the Paris Agreement entered into force at the end of 2016.
1
3. Coal mining emissions in NSW are the only sector that the NSW Government
predicts will increase this decade. Under the latest ‘current policy scenario’ in the
‘NSW Greenhouse Gas Emission Projections, 2021−2050’ - published on 20 January
2023 - fugitive emissions from coal mines (open cut and underground) are projected
to increase by ~10% from 11.63 Mt CO2-e in 2020 to 12.8 Mt CO2-e in 2030.
4. HVO is seeking permission to double annual Scope 1 GHG emissions (mainly
fugitive methane and diesel emissions released during mining) from the 0.56 Mt
CO2-e reported in their 2021 Annual Environmental Review to an average of 1.19 Mt
CO2-e for the next 27 years (Table 30, Pg 87 of Appendix H - Air quality and GHG).
5. HVO is seeking approval to double its own direct GHG emissions at a time when the
NSW Government’s policy is to reduce GHG emissions by 70% by 2035.
6. This Project seeks approval to more than triple Scope 1 fugitive methane
emissions from 182,625t CO2-e projected for 2023 to 590,284 t CO2-e in 2030.
The Global Methane Pledge (to which Australia is a signatory) requires at least a
30% cut in methane emissions globally by 2030.
7. Instead of electrifying their mining fleet to eliminate diesel emissions, Yancoal
and Glencore are applying to steadily increase their diesel emissions. This
Project seeks approval to increase it’s Scope 1 diesel emissions by 43% from
414,245t CO2-e in 2023 to 592,462 t CO2-e in 2035.
Air pollution
● The expansion of activities at HVO would inevitably result in degraded air quality, with
significant and prolonged air pollution in the form of PM10 and PM 2.5 emissions.
2
● PM 2.5 emissions are particularly concerning. Last year, Associate Professor Gabriel
Da Silva - expert on the chemistry of air pollution at The University of Melbourne -
made a submission on the expansion of the Mount Pleasant mine (also in the Hunter
Valley), finding that for health reasons, “the mine shouldn’t be allowed to expand.”
Reaching this conclusion, Dr Da Silva found “emerging science” is telling us “that
PM2.5 is actually more harmful than we once understood” and that “the latest studies
are showing we can’t actually work out where a safe limit for exposure to PM2.5 is.”1
Aboriginal cultural heritage
● Significant Aboriginal cultural heritage values would be impacted by this Project,
therefore the Plains Clans of the Wonnarua People object to any expansion of open
cut coal mining at HVO.
● In October 2022, the NSW IPC found that Aboriginal cultural heritage values adjacent
to this Project would be “harmed” by Glencore’s ‘Glendell Continued Operations
Project’ (COP). This was one of the key reasons the Glendell COP project was
refused consent.
● Lock the Gate understands that the Plains Clans of the Wonnarua People (PCWP)’s
have lodged a Section 10 application to the Commonwealth under the ATSIHP Act to
protect Aboriginal Cultural Heritage in this area and that this application is still afoot.
This application was material to the NSW IPC’s refusal of the Glendell COP and also
covers portions of the HVO Project area.
Biodiversity
● The Project would clear 397 ha of native vegetation, 97.4 ha of which is home to
Threatened Ecological Communities (TECs).2
● At least two TECs face ‘Serious and Irreversible Impacts (SAII)’ as a result of the
Project, being Hunter Floodplain Red Gum Woodland in the NSW North Coast and
Sydney Basin Bioregions EEC and Warkworth Sands Woodland in the Sydney Basin
Bioregion EEC.3
● The newly discovered legless lizard - the Hunter Valley delma (Delma vescolineata) -
is also at risk. While the Hunter Valley delma is not currently listed as a threatened
species, it is expected that it soon will be. It is understood that the species has been
nominated for listing under the Commonwealth EPBC Act. The species is only known
to occur in a geographically restricted area in the Hunter Valley, which is heavily
impacted by mining and agriculture with no parks or reserves in the region known to
3 pg iii, Appendix L - Biodiversity Development Assessment Report
2 Appendix L - Biodiversity Development Assessment Report, Pg i,
https://majorprojects.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/prweb/PRRestService/mp/01/getContent?AttachRef=
SSD-11826681%2120221219T104754.910%20GMT
1 Dr Da Silva, NSW IPC, Public Hearing Day 2, Transcript of Proceedings, Mount Pleasant
assessment
3
conserve habitat for this species.4
● The Australian Government’s ‘Australia state of the environment 2021’ (July 2022)
found that “[o]verall, the state and trend of the environment of Australia are poor and
deteriorating as a result of increasing pressures from climate change, habitat
loss, invasive species, pollution and resource extraction.”
Voids
HVO proposes to leave two huge voids that will slowly fill up with salty water.
● HVO South and HVO North pit lakes are expected to take about 1,000 years to
‘reach an equilibrium level’ (that is to say ‘salty lake’ that will remain an
environmental hazard in perpetuity). (EIS Main Report pg 239)
● Overall, more than 25 final voids have been approved to be left across the Hunter by
coal mining operations. The Hunter Valley Renewal project - in a new report, ‘After
the coal rush, the clean up. A community blueprint to restore the Hunter’ - estimates
that these unfilled mining holes will have a combined surface area the size of Sydney
Harbour, but will be much,much deeper.
○ Modelling predicts that each void will take hundreds, even thousands of years
to reach hydrological equilibrium, with each destined to become a
contaminated super-saline lake.
○ Some suggest that these sites might become nice recreational water parks, or
dirt bike tracks, or renewable energy stations, but experts and local
authorities warn that the Hunter’s voids will become perpetual hazards to
human and environmental health, needing active management long after the
mining companies have gone.
○ As Muswellbrook Council has said “Voids are not a naturally occurring
element in the landscape, so planning to retain a void is planning to create an
irreversible and permanent negative change to the environment.
Glencore - not fit and proper to hold a mining lease in NSW
● The NSW Mining Act and the Commonwealth Environment Protection And
Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 both have provisions which require a mining title
holder to be ‘fit and proper’. Glencore owns 49% of this Project. Glencore is not a fit
and property entity to be granted further mining rights in NSW.
● Glencore has been found guilty of systematic bribery overseas. In November 2022
Glencore was fined £281m in the UK for “sustained criminality”, the largest ever
4 pg 94, Appendix L - Biodiversity Development Assessment Report
4
payment imposed on a company in a UK court.
● In May 2022, the US Department of Justice advised that Glencore Entered Guilty
Pleas to Foreign Bribery and Market Manipulation Schemes and agreed to pay
US$1.1 billion as a settlement.
“The scope of this criminal bribery scheme is staggering,” said U.S. Attorney
Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “Glencore paid bribes
to secure oil contracts. Glencore paid bribes to avoid government audits.
Glencore bribed judges to make lawsuits disappear. At bottom, Glencore paid
bribes to make money – hundreds of millions of dollars. And it did so with the
approval, and even encouragement, of its top executives.
● Here in Australia, Glencore is facing an investigation by ASIC over greenwashing
and “misleading and deceptive” conduct linked to their claims about cutting carbon
emissions.
● According to Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility:
○ “Glencore remains one of the largest members of some of Australia’s biggest
blockers of climate action: the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), the NSW
Minerals Council and the Queensland Resources Council (QRC). The MCA
was found by InfluenceMap in 2021 to be the single largest negative influence
on Australian climate-related policy.”5
○ “Glencore is the 8th most obstructive company blocking climate policy action
globally, and remains one of the few diversified miners still promoting thermal
coal. Glencore’s direct and indirect advocacy through industry associations
continues to stand in the way of ambitious climate policy in Australia.”
5 Dan Gocher, ACCR, March 2022, Glencore Plc, Assessment of progress against its climate plan

The issue of intergenerational equity has many facets. One of these is that the current generation has a duty to use natural resources responsibly. Through its actions, the current generation must not deny future generations access to natural resources. The project involves a responsible degree of resource recovery - a recovery factor that benefits from existing infrastructure and points of access. Premature closure of the mining operation, on the other hand, would see significant resources sterilised if a future generation elected to mine the resource following closure and rehabilitation of the current works. The project should be supported subject to compliance with reasonable environmental safeguards.

Hunter Valley Operations Continuation Project

Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Glencore and Yancoal’s Hunter Valley Operations Continuation Project if approved would be responsible for 1.2 billion tonnes of total carbon emissions and is the single largest new coal project proposed in NSW since the Paris Agreement.

‘NSW Greenhouse Gas Emission Projections, 2021−2050’ - published on 20 January 2023 stated that fugitive emissions from coal mines (open cut and underground) are projected to increase by ~10% from 11.63 Mt CO2-e in 2020 to 12.8 Mt CO2-e in 2030. 4.

The HVO Project seeks approval to more than triple Scope 1 fugitive methane emissions from 182,625t CO2-e projected for 2023 to 590,284 t CO2-e in 2030. The Global Methane Pledge (to which Australia is a signatory) requires at least a 30% cut in methane emissions globally by 2030.

Instead of electrifying their mining fleet to eliminate diesel emissions, Yancoal and Glencore are applying to steadily increase their diesel emissions. This Project seeks approval to increase it’s Scope 1 diesel emissions by 43% from 414,245t CO2-e in 2023 to 592,462 t CO2-e in 2035.

Air pollution
The expansion of activities at HVO would inevitably result in degraded air quality, with significant and prolonged air pollution in the form of PM10 and PM 2.5 emissions. PM 2.5 emissions are particularly concerning. Last year, Associate Professor Gabriel Da Silva - expert on the chemistry of air pollution at The University of Melbourne - made a submission on the expansion of the Mount Pleasant mine (also in the Hunter Valley), finding that for health reasons, “the mine shouldn’t be allowed to expand.” Reaching this conclusion, Dr Da Silva found “emerging science” is telling us “That 2.5 is actually more harmful than we once understood” and that “the latest studies are showing we can’t actually work out where a safe limit for exposure to PM2.5 is.” 1

Aboriginal Heritage:
Lock the Gate understands that the Plains Clans of the Wonnarua People (PCWP)’s have lodged a Section 10 application to the Commonwealth under the ATSIHP Act to protect Aboriginal Cultural Heritage in this area and that this application is current. This application was material to the NSW IPC’s refusal of the Glendell COP and also covers portions of the HVO Project area.


Biodiversity
The Project would clear 397 ha of native vegetation, 97.4 ha of which is home to Threatened Ecological Communities (TECs). At least two TECs face ‘Serious and Irreversible Impacts (SAII)’ as a result of the Project, being Hunter Floodplain Red Gum Woodland in the NSW North Coast and Sydney Basin Bioregions EEC and Warkworth Sands Woodland in the Sydney Basin Bioregion EEC. The newly discovered legless lizard - the Hunter Valley delma (Delma vescolineata) - is also at risk. While the Hunter Valley delma is not currently listed as a threatened species, it is expected that it soon will be.

Final Voids
HVO proposes to leave two huge voids that will slowly fill up with salty water. HVO South and HVO North pit lakes are expected to take about 1,000 years to ‘reach an equilibrium level’ (that is to say ‘salty lake’ that will remain an environmental hazard in perpetuity). (EIS Main Report pg 239)
Overall, more than 25 final voids have been approved to be left across the Hunter by coal mining operations. The Hunter Valley Renewal project - in a new report, ‘After the coal rush, the clean up. A community blueprint to restore the Hunter’ - estimates that these unfilled mining holes will have a combined surface area the size of Sydney Harbour, but will be much, much deeper. Modelling predicts that each void will take hundreds, even thousands of years to reach hydrological equilibrium, with each destined to become a contaminated super-saline lake. Some suggest that these sites might become nice recreational water parks, or dirt bike tracks, or renewable energy stations, but experts and local authorities warn that the Hunter’s voids will become perpetual hazards to human and environmental health, needing active management long after the mining companies have gone. As Muswellbrook Council has said “Voids are not a naturally occurring element in the landscape, so planning to retain a void is planning to create an irreversible and permanent negative change to the environment.
If current or future generations want to repair the Hunter’s landscape, it will be an expensive exercise. Estimates of how much it costs to fill in the final void of a range between $526 million and $2.08 billion for each mine, according to the mining companies themselves. By contrast, the largest environmental bond held by the NSW Government is $272 million, with most in the tens of millions. The gap between the bonds held and the cost to fill in voids represents a subsidy to mining companies, one borne by the Hunter community and environment.

Glencore - not fit and proper to hold a mining lease in NSW
The NSW Mining Act and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 both have provisions which require a mining title holder to be ‘fit and proper’. Glencore owns 49% of this Project. Glencore is not a fit and property entity to be granted further mining rights in NSW. Glencore has been found guilty of systematic bribery overseas. In November 2022 Glencore was fined £281m in the UK for “sustained criminality”, the largest ever payment imposed on a company in a UK court. In May 2022, the US Department of Justice advised that Glencore Entered Guilty Pleas to Foreign Bribery and Market Manipulation Schemes and agreed to pay US$1.1 billion as a settlement. “The scope of this criminal bribery scheme is staggering,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “Glencore paid bribes to secure oil contracts. Glencore paid bribes to avoid government audits. Glencore bribed judges to make lawsuits disappear. At bottom, Glencore paid bribes to make money – hundreds of millions of dollars. And it did so with the approval, and even encouragement, of its top executives. Here in Australia, Glencore is facing an investigation by ASIC over greenwashing and “misleading and deceptive” conduct linked to their claims about cutting carbon emissions. According to Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility: “Glencore remains one of the largest members of some of Australia’s biggest blockers of climate action: the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), the NSW Minerals Council and the Queensland Resources Council (QRC). The MCA was found by InfluenceMap in 2021 to be the single largest negative influence on Australian climate-related policy.” “Glencore is the 8th most obstructive company blocking climate policy action globally, and remains one of the few diversified miners still promoting thermal coal. Glencore’s direct and indirect advocacy through industry associations continues to stand in the way of ambitious climate policy in Australia.

No new coal mines are needed in the Hunter Valley. Avoiding dangerous climate change requires keeping coal in the ground, and with the world moving away from coal as an energy source new coal mines will simply compete with existing coal mines for a declining market.

Thank you
Will D'Arcy

My liveyhood is based on my business consulting on an engineering basis to the Coal Mining Industry and as such I do not support any impedance to the development in this industry. I own a Consulting Engineering company known as Waring Engineering Services Pty Ltd.