MOORABOOL would be left with an eight-square-kilometre hole if a planned coal mine is green lit.
That’s the belief of Quit Coal engineer Neil Erenstrom, who says he was told by a Mantle Mining geologist last year that the brown coal resources in Bacchus Marsh were not as dense as those in the Latrobe Valley. “The coal resource in Bacchus Marsh is substantially thinner than in Morwell, which means the mine would cover an even greater area,” Mr Erenstrom said.
The Morwell mine reportedly produces 18 million tonnes of coal each year, while Mantle Mining announced its proposed mine could produce as much as 1.6 billion tonnes over the life of the mine.
“A mine in Bacchus Marsh would need to be bigger to extract the same amount of coal,” Mr Erenstrom said. “The size of Hazelwood mine is quoted as 800 hectares or eight-square kilometres by GDH Suez, Hazelwood’s owner.”
Mr Erenstrom’s findings are revealed in a new, locally produced, five-minute documentary Is It Worth The Risk?, which claims the hole would also be 200 metres deep.
An Exergen spokesman said the mine was still subject to a final scoping study.
“We can’t speculate on its exact shape, but we can totally rule out leaving behind a 200-metre-deep hole.
“It is anticipated that the mining process will involve extracting only the coal seam and returning the rest of the earth.”
To view the film clip, visit youtube.com/watch?v=zblIAJQU0Ws —Ben Cameron
