Mod 2 - Mine Extension

I support the Coalpac mine extension.

As a former employee with both Big Rim & Coalpac at the Invincible Mine, I fully support the proposed extension. I was born in Lithgow & have lived in Wallerawang most of my life.
I was working at the mine (Invincible) in 2012 until all our jobs were lost due to governmental red tape & I feel also, unfair miss-informed opposition.
As a result of this i have had to leave my home, family & friends to find work elsewhere, which i did not want to do. As did many local workmates which is very sad. Like many or most of those my Father, Uncle & Grandfathers were miners or had work relating to or directly from mining.
This area has always been a mining area & built by miners & without mining would be stripped of income, population & growth.
We need this mine & others in the area for this reason alone. I understand that mining will not be here for ever but there is no other strong work infrastructure or opportunities in the local area (Lithgow, Wang, Portland & Cullen Bullen etc) but mining for a majority of the population.
I hope you can make the right decision in granting approval for this proposal & create the jobs so many of us need to return to or keep living in our home towns.
Thank you for your time.

I urge the NSW State Government to reject any plans for open-cut mining in the Ben Bullen State Forest, home not only to the exceptional sandstone formations, the pagodas, but also to hundreds of species of native plants and animals, some of which, such as squirrel gliders, spotted quolls and powerful owls, are threatened with extinction.

I'm aware that an open-cut coal mine proposal within Ben Bullen State Forest was rejected by a Planning Assessment Commission Review and the Director-General's Report, Department of Planning and Infrastructure. Now, the open-cut mining proposal has re-emerged in a form which would see this public forest mined through a sequence of supposedly independent stages, the first of which is scheduled to last seven years. Were this new proposal to be approved, it would make a mockery of the planning process.

I urge the Government to stop open-cut coal mining in this forest once and for all and to ensure that it is protected permanently within a state conservation area.

Thank you,
Ruth Schmid

I am writing to give my general support for projects in the Lithgow area.

The coal industry is already undergoing tough times in NSW, as are the people that work in the industry, and their families.

It makes good sense economically, that if projects which are actually deemed economically viable go ahead, to, in part, avoid the avalanche of troubles that often hit areas like Lithgow disproportionately hard in times such as these.

I also support tough environmental regulations on mines, but also believe that many operate to the best of their ability to comply with such regulations.

If the mine extensions proposed in Lithgow can achieve these regulatory requirements, it also makes sense to support the area economically.

Regards and Thanks,
Stewart Reeve

I object to any further damage to Ben Bullen State Forest. The existing areas damaged by coal mining should be fully and properly rehabilitated.

I support the economic benefits that mining brings to the area and believe this project should be approved to secure employment for the 150+ people that rely on the mine for their income and to support their families.

It should be allowed to go ahead.

I fully support the Cullen Valley Mine, for the health, welfare and viability of the Cullen Bullen Community and the Lithgow Council Area

I fully support the Cullen Valley mine to go ahead, for the health, welfare and viability of the Cullen Bullen community and the Lithgow Council Area

There is some green groups spreading lies on their web pages to get submissions against this modification I hope you see through their lies and misinformation as that is the only way they can get people to do submissions. I fully support this modification as it will provide much needed jobs in the area and a cheap supply of domestic coal to the power stations in turn helping to keep power prices down. thank you for your time.

I strongly support this project. This area is not good agricultural land and has been mined for many years. It provides lots of local jobs. The monetary contribution injected into the local economy (businesses, contractors etc) is immense.

I strongly support this project. This area has been mined for many years. It offers employment to people in the local area. The money injected into the local community (businesses, contractors etc) is significant.

Dear Sir/Madam.
I am concerned about the proposal at the Cullen valley mine as I live 4 km from the mine... when the mine was operational and when they blasted our house would vibrate as our house is sitting on the sandstone we feel all of the vibrations and we are concerned about any damage that could happen to our house and our in-laws house which is next door to us. If we get any structural damage because of the blasting will they fix the problem, I think not, so there for I am against the granting of the approval for the licence to mine coal at the Cullen valley mine.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing in support of the extension of mining at the Cullen Valley Mine. I declare that I have over a period 7 years been engaged as geotechnical consultant to this project and the Invincible Colliery for approximately 14 days. This has been enough to give me direct knowledge of the operations without making me dependent on them for my livelihood.

I acknowledge that during mining, an unsightly view, to some, can be created. However, I have seen first hand the quality of the rehabilitation that has already been undertaken and is being undertaken progressively. Already there are well established trees that are contributing to the amenity of the landscape.

Some have raised concerns regarding possible damage to the so-called pagodas. I consider from a geotechnical perspective this can be managed. Appropriate set backs and vibration limits can be implemented to protect these features. In any case only a tiny percentage of the total number of pagodas would be at potential risk of damage.

Importantly, the two mines provided direct full time employment for about 150 people in a district where there are not many job opportunities.

The mine sits next to an essentially man made environment - cleared agricultural land and a railway line on one side and bushland on the other. There seems to be no rational basis for arguing that a commercial activity that has continued for almost a hundred years should now be arbitrarily shut down, provided adequate environmental practices are observed.

I support the extension for the Cullen Valley mine due to the massive employment benefits it will bring to the area. I feel the social benefits of employment to local families and the injection into the local economy far out way any short term enviromental impacts. The rehabilitation of the affected area is part of the mining process and limits enviromental impact. The changes in this current modification which differ from the consolidation project are a massive comprimise by coalpac. I give my full spport for the modification!!

I support the extension for the Cullen Valley mine due to the massive employment benefits it will bring to the area. I feel the social benefits of employment to local families and the injection into the local economy far out way any short term enviromental impacts. The rehabilitation of the affected area is part of the mining process and limits enviromental impact. The changes in this current modification which differ from the consolidation project are a massive comprimise by coalpac. I give my full spport for the modification!!

I object to it.

I object to it.

We own a mechanical workshop and Service station in Portland, in the past year we have seen a significant down turn in our business and our selves had to retrench our workers due to no work from the local mines anymore. With the unemployment so high in our local area it makes it very hard for people to buy and support our business because they have no money to spread around within the community. Without the support of the local community buying petrol, food ect we will have no option but to close our shop and try to sell up and move away, I don't want to see this happen as I was born and bread here like so many other families I know.

The Invincible and Cullen Valley mine extensions provides a threefold benefit to the regional communities and to the State of NSW.

The approval of both extensions will provide a clear line of sight to final rehabilitation at both mine sites. The importance of the mine extension for the final rehabilitation outcome is the manner in which the mining sequence will allow for the best possible designed rehabilitation final landscape.

Coalpac, Coalpac's employees, their contractors and their local suppliers have been an integral part of the NSW Energy Sector. An approval to the mine extensions will allow for a suitable transition period for the companies, the workers and contractors who have been part of the NSW energy supply chain to Mt. Piper and Wallerawang through Coalpac, to diversify, or to look toward other business sectors for employment or business growth. The approval of the mine extensions will also give the local power stations the capability to revisit their long term supply chain requirements for fuel in an organized manner.

Lastly, until such time that the last coal is removed from the two sites, the local power stations and ultimately the people of NSW, will be able to benefit from the lower cost of operation of one of NSW's power stations as a local supply of coal is still made available for fuel from Cullen Valley and Invincible.

Coalpac have a track record in demonstrating their capability to take remnant mining locations, safely extract the available coal and commence the rehabilitation of the landscape as part of their mining sequence all while working to the industry's best practices in environmental management, community interaction and maintaining their social license.

As a Contractor who has had a presence at both the Cullen Valley and Invincible mine sites, we support Coalpac's application for the mining extensions for both sites, not only because we believe that it will provide a benefit to the local communities, the local workforce and contractors and to the people of NSW, but because of our knowledge that the integrity of the men and women of Coalpac will ensure that these two mine sites will be brought back to the best rehabilitated status possible.

Thank you,
Tony Leo
General Manager
Big Rim Pty Ltd.