Adani may abandon Australian coal mine project citing delays: report

AustraliaCoal

Mumbai: Indian infrastructure conglomerate Adani Group may withdraw from the proposed $16 billion mining project in the Galilee basin of Queensland citing delays caused by environmental activists in the courts for the project.

The Australian on Saturday reported that the company’s founder and chairman, Gautam Adani, had told the newspaper that the he was disappointed the “pit to plug’’ project had yet to receive the green light after six years of environmental assessments and court battles.

In his first interview with the Australian media, Adani hoped the court challenges to Australia’s largest proposed coalmine would be finalised early next year.

“You can’t continue just holding. I have been really disappointed that things have got too delayed,’’ billionaire Adani told The Australian.

The Adani Group initiated the Carmichael coal project in 2010 with plans to develop a coal mine and a rail link with Abbot Point port, but the project soon ran into opposition from environmentalists.

Adani Enterprises Ltd on 3 April won mining leases for its Carmichael coal project in Australia, moving a step closer to starting work at the controversial mine. Adani secured three leases from the Queensland state government for the coal project, which would be the largest in Australia.

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