Report, banks dig deeper hole for Australia’s Indian coal mine plan

Opposition is converging against the Adani Group’s proposed HK$126 billion Queensland facility, from environmentalists to industry analysts and lenders

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A reclaimer machine at a coal port in Australia. The planned Carmichael mine in Queensland is facing mounting opposition. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:30pm, 28 Apr 2017Updated: 5:01pm, 3 Jul 2017

Fresh studies predicting adverse economic impacts of a proposed Australian coal mine have strengthened opposition to the A$21.7 billion (HK$126 billion) project by an Indian conglomerate that has become a political hot potato for the Malcolm Turnbull government.

Westpac, the country’s second-largest bank, queered the pitch further when on Friday it announced it would not fund new coal mining regions. With that, Westpac joins three other main banks – ANZ, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank – in distancing themselves from the project.

From campaigns by cricketing legends to an allegedly fake Twitter storm aimed at garnering support, the planned Carmichael coal mine in Queensland has been mired in controversy every step of the way. The project belongs to the Adani Group, known to be close to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Both the announcement of an A$1 billion loan from the government and the promise of a supply of 9.5 billion litres of water have proven unpopular, even beyond environmental circles, despite the promise of jobs – 10,000 claimed by the Adanis but 1,500 by other estimates – and the addition to state revenues. Green groups have also expressed concern about the mine’s impact on the delicate Great Barrier Reef.

Environmental groups have expressed concerns about the possible impact the Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, Australia, could have on the Great Barrier Reef. Photo: AP

When completed, the Carmichael mine will be one of the biggest in the world, adding 60 million tonnes per annum to the global supply of thermal coal, making it the biggest mine in Australia and one of the biggest in the world. According to figures from consultancy Wood MacKenzie, Australia exported 203 million tonnes of thermal coal in 2016, meaning Carmichael could add nearly a third to the current supply.