Dear Sir /madam

I wish to support the Mandalong South Mine extension . The mine extension has the following benefits.

We currently employee up to 250 full time employees. The mine extension will support these families in the future and not be a burdon on the welfare system if they unemployeed.

The employees also support the surrounding communities / businesses which in turn keep more people employeed

Mandalong has a good enviromental footprint in the surrounding area and is closely monitored and address any issues that may arise form subsidence or other environmental effects. The employees at Mandalong also are environmentally orientated and support the need to maintain our environment.

We maintain a consistent supply of coal at cheaper prices to Eraring power station. This in turn allows the price of electricity to be reduced and stable to all of the energy consumers.

The above are just a few the important reasons we need to maintain a consistent supply of coal to our power stations and to keep imployment in the local area

I am an apprentice at Mandalong Mine.
I want to see the Mandalong Mine Southern Extension Project go ahead as I want to continue working at the mine for many years to come. I am from a third generation mining family.
I am involved in a local sporting group and would be unable to do so if I didn't have a job.
I really enjoy my job and the lifestyle it provides me. I need my job!!

I have worked at Mandalong Mine for the past seven years and look forward to coming to work.
I want to see the Mandalong Mine Southern Extension Project go ahead as I have 10 years until my retirement and would find it extremely hard in my early fifties seeking employment elsewhere.
Mandalong Mine has always done the right thing and been conscious of the environment and the many land owners in the community.
Mandalong Mine is a major supplier of coal for local electricity generation, keeping our lights on.
My grandfather was a miner and I hope my family and I continue this tradition for many years to come.

I have been employed in the mining industry for approximately 30 years and have worked at Mandalong Mine for the past seven years.
I want the Mandalong Mine Southern Extension Project to go ahead otherwise it would have a detrimental effect on us all. There are three members of my family working at the mine and we need our jobs to support family, pay the bills and to educate our children. This would have a flow on effect into the Morisset community where I shop and support other local businesses.
Mandalong Mine has a great track record of extracting coal and has minimal impact on the environment.
The mining industry has been very good to me and I hope this continues into the future.
I love my job and don't want to lose it!!

My company currently have work contracts with the Centennial Group. We have a permanent workforce at the Mandalong mine site which has been in place for 8 consecutive years.

The approval of this mine extension has the ability to provide long term secure work for the UGM group and its employees as well as support both personally and financially to local communities and businesses with the expenditure on goods and services. It will also provide long term employment opportunities to the surrounding shire.

I have worked at Mandalong Mine from 1989 as it has extended from the Old cooranbong Colliery.As an extension of this old mine Cooranbong we have had to be able to fit into the community by way of abiding to the rules governing our prescence here at Mandalong including the requisite for coal only to be transported underground and no coal to be present on the Mandalong surface. In the period that Mandalong has been operational this has proved a winner for the community. Whilst as a mine we are maintaining up to 20 kilometres of underground conveyor to ensure that this happens. It has been my experience in talking to shop owners and residents of people in Morisset that they are unaware that we as a mine exist. This is a good thing as we have no desire to upset or detract from what is already in place.It is on public record of how our subsidence management has gone over the last 10 years or so and this should follow onto the Mandalong Southern extension project. I truly believe we will continue to do as promised and required to manage what we do in a responsible manner. We have runs on the board to demonstrate this. i have taken a great many people (hundreds) underground to visit our mine including local residents,dignatries and parliamentarians to show them what we do and all have been amazed at the process and how it is conducted. Finally our business dealings in the local community include many and varied which has been a positive contribution with up to 300 of our staff using the local businesess. I am very confident that nothing will change in our approcah to the Mandalong South Project area as our physical address wont change and our way of operating will be conducted with open and honest business dealings as our history has shown.

I have been a permanent employee at Mandalong Mine for the past six years, commencing employment in 2008.

I live locally in the area and have two young children. My job is important to me as it provides a solid income base for me to be able to provide for my family, regarding transport, living and educational costs to name a few.

It also allows me to contribute to the local economy by spending in local businesses in the Lake Macquarie / Newcastle, as well as other areas in NSW.

Iam in favour of the Mandalong South Extension Project due the following;

1) I am a permanent employee (as outlined previously)
2) Centennial Mandalong employs well over 300 men and women directly
3) Centennial Mandalong engages many locally based contractors for labour, repair and manufacture of mining equipment
4) Centennial Mandalong contributes greatly to the local community as well as providing the NSW state government with coal royalties
5) Centennial Mandalong has a sound track record of extracting coal via the Longwall mining method.

Lastly, I would like to continue my employment at Centennial Mandalong for some time to come. If the Mandalong South Extension Project is approved this should hopefully provide me and many others with a solid means of employment for the next twenty years.

Regards, Adam JONES

I have worked with Centennial Coal as an organisation since novemeber 2008. I have worked at a variety of sites but am now the full time mine geologist at Centennial Coals Mandalong site.

I support this project for the following reasons:

1. Mandalong has a current workforce of over 300 and this project will continue that employment until 2035. This gives job security in a time where the coal industry is struggling.
2.Mandalong mine plays a big part in supplying coal for local electricity generation.
3. Mandlong employs world class subsidence management and causes minimal environmental impacts.
4. NSW benefits from royalties that are paid emplying public sector workers and providing quality healthcare/police etc.
5. I have recently settled down in the area constructing a home and putting my salary back into the greater newcastle region.
6. At Centennial Mandalong I contribute to the community through open days and landholder agreements.

I am in full support of the Mandalong Southern Extension for Mandalong mine. As a employee of Centennial Coal, this extension could keep me employed for some time, as it will extend the life of mine till round 2035. With the down turn in the industry at the moment. Job cuts continue to come and without this project, it is scary to think how many people would have to seek further employment somewhere else.

Thank you. Hope this comment gets heard.

Dean Macbain

Centennial Mandalong has provided a place of work for me for the past 5 years.
My father worked for Centennial at Mandalong's predecessor Cooranbong and in that time I have never known Cooranbong/Mandalong to have significantly impacted the surface through mining.
The mine design is centred around minimal impact to the surface features and environment.
I know that Mandalong supports the local community through large amounts of sponsorship and the State benefits greatly from the royalties that are paid.
My family has lived in the Lake Macqaurie area all of my life and Centennial have been apart of that life for its entirety (My father, mother and brother in law have worked for Centennial for the past 30 years).
Just as Centennial helped my support my parents through my child hood Id like to think the Mandalong South Project will help me support my young family for the years to come.