Warkworth Coal Mine Continuation

I am currently employed by Resco Services as a contractor at Mount Thorley Warkworth. My family relies on me the provide for them and the Mount Thorley Warkworth extension would help secure my families long term financial security. Without the approval my family would struggle to make ends meet and would leave us struggling to provide a great future for our 2 children.

I am a operator at MTW. I have worked there for 5 years. I am married with 2 small boys. We are both proud upper hunter locals who know the importance of the mining industry not only to this area but to the whole of NSW. My family also has a small Real Estate business in the upper hunter which is heavily reliant on mining.

To NSW Premier,

Warkworth Continuation Project

I am an employee of Rio Tinto Energy, which provides management services to Rio Tinto's coal operations in Australia including Warkworth coal mine. My position at Rio Tinto Energy is manager marketing, thermal and semi soft coal and I am responsible for managing sales/marketing of coal produced by Rio Tinto's coal operations in New South Wales. In particular, I have been managing coal marketing for Warkworth mine since 2007.

I have been enjoying my job with a great sense of pride of marketing Warkworth coal, which has the long history over 30 years in the coal industry. Warkworth is a well-established premium coal brand in the coal market, especially in Japan, the premier coal market of Asia, through a proven track record of delivering high quality coal to customers on reliable delivery performance. Such a good reputation of Warkworth coal could not have been established without hard work of many people involved in the development and operation of Warkworth mine over the past 30 years. I am committed to enhance Warkworth's good reputation further in the coal market, so that benefits in terms of export revenues and employments can continue to be obtained by all stakeholders in Australia, such as New South Wales, local communities, support industries and Rio Tinto employees.

Warkworth coal is exported to many customers in Asia, such as power utilities and steel mills. Certainty in the future of Warkworth mine is very important for these customers, as many of these importing countries do not have their own coal resource that matches the Australian coal industry and will have to rely on imported coal to meet their social obligation of generating electricity and producing steel.

Australian coal, especially coal from the Hunter Valley Region of New South Wales, is the most important coal for many power utilities in Japan due to its superior reliability in quality and delivery. In fact, many coal fired power plants in Japan have been designed based on coal quality from the Hunter Valley Region. Therefore, Japanese power utilities have a long term interest in the Hunter Valley coal industry and have been purchasing coal from a number of coal mines, including Warkworth mine, in New South Wales since early 1980's. Continuous and reliable supply of coal from Warkworth mine and other mines in New South Wales is very important for Japanese power utilities.

Many stakeholders such as mining companies and customers are concerned about the Land and Environment Court's decision to overturn the approval of the Warkworth Extension Project in early 2013, despite an earlier approval grant by the NSW Government. This decision sets a precedent which will have negative implications on the future mining projects in New South Wales. It has already generated a high degree of uncertainty over the approval process of all mining projects in the state. The stable and consistent regulatory environment in the Australian mining industry has been a key factor for attracting investments in the industry and long term buyers of mining products from overseas.

Unfortunately, the overturn decision in relation to the Warkworth Extension Project makes all mining projects in New South Wales very risky and uncertain. It is a major concern for our company as the future of coal supplies from the Warkworth mine and other mines in New South Wales is now uncertain. We believe that many stakeholders are watching this issue very seriously. We strongly hope that the New South Wales government will approve the new application of the Warkworth continuation project to protect the future of the Warkworth mine and restore confidence in the planning and approval system in the state.

Yours faithfully,

Kinji Mizuno

I joined the industry to gain experience, broaden my knowledge of the mining industry and to provide a better life for my family. What will I do without work? I have a wife, 5 year old son and soon to be a father again in 3 weeks. I have a mortgage, car repayments and bills and still try to provide the best for my family. This has been my line of work for 6 years.
The Hunter Valley is known for its coal production. It won't be just the 1300 jobs from MTW that will be lost. Local businesses, the community, and all mine related industry's will all suffer not to mention the economy.

http://majorprojects.planning.nsw.gov.au/page/development-categories/mining--petroleum---extractive-industries/mining/?action=view_job&job_id=6464

I support the Warkworth Mine Extension as in the future i hope to obtain a place in the mining graduate program so therefore hope the mine continues and expands with the need for my generations work force

I support the Warkworth Mine Extension as i hope to find employment at the mine when i finish schooling

I support the warkworth mine extension as i am an Apprentice employed at the site and at the end of my apprenticeship would be looking for full-time employment

I have wanted to work in the mining industry for many years and now I have achieved this I don't want it to end after only a few years. I have about 20 years working life left and I would endeavor to complete it at MTW. I am relying on this employment for the financial security for my family. I am very concerned with the number of redundancies in Newcastle and the hunter this year and believe it would be very difficult to gain further employment.

I believe the economic benefits for the entire Hunter Valley far out weigh the concerns of a few local residents who have in most cases chosen to live next to mines.

With a young family and my wife only working casual we heavily depend on this mines future for our livelihood. Without Mt Thorley Warkworth our quality of life would be severely affected. I believe that the local economy would be severely affected both directly and indirectly through the closure of this pit. With the mining industry in a current downturn we should be looking to promote jobs instead of needlessly closing down places with such a large workforce.

I have a family to support and without my job at Mt Thorley Warkworth life would be very difficult for us. The mine also supports many businesses in the area who would also be adversely affected by the mine closing. I may have to move out of the area to gain employment in another mine, but mining across the country is under pressure from low prices for materials so it could take a long time to gain further employment.

I have a family to support and without my job at Mt Thorley Warkworth life would be very difficult for us. The mine also supports many businesses in the area who would also be adversely affected by the mine closing. I may have to move out of the area to gain employment in another mine, but mining across the country is under pressure from low prices for materials so it could take a long time to gain further employment.

I have been employed with MTW for 4 years. Having come into mining so young at 19 it is critical for me to have the approval go ahead as I have basically no experience in other industries. The mine is close to home for me and having a mortgage and a new born baby at home from a selfish point of view I would love to see the mine get the extension as it would sure up my future for a lot of years.
Over the 4 years at MTW i have seen first hand how much importance is placed on being a good neighbour to the surrounding communities whether it be threw dust or threw noise the mine always pulls up production to get things under control.

As an employee of this operation, I rely on my income to support my family, so it is very important to me to see the continuation of Warkworth mine, as it is for everyone else who works here. The mine supplies business to the local community and its vital to see the community thrive and grow. If the continuation of the mine is granted there will be longevity and stability, as well as strong morale in the workforce.

I have a wife and kids to support and my employment is detrimental to this. If the lease is not approved I may have to leave the hunter to seek employment in another state. My wife's immediate family live close by and are very helpful in looking after my family.

The mine needs to go ahead so my family and the local cummunity can move foward and not lose jobs and small bussness dont close

I support the submission as I support the young union members to keep their jobs. And also to support the businesses and towns who would be affected by a negative decision.

to keep my job

I believe its vitally important that this mine extension is given a green light so the careers of not just the people directly involved with the mine but also the many businesses associated will have a secure future.