Australia’s Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt approved Adani’s proposed Carmichael mine with the strictest conditions in Australian history, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. In August, a Federal Court set aside the previous approval. The project, which will produce up to 60 million metric tons (mt) of coal, has faced opposition because its Abbot Point terminals are located close to the Great Barrier Reef.
The court previously said that Hunt had not considered the impact on two threatened species, the yakka skink and the ornamental snake. The latest approval, which includes a rail line, would be “subject to 36 of the strictest conditions in Australian history.”
Some of these include protecting and improving 31,000 hectares of southern black throated finch habitat, requiring $1 million to fund research programs to improve conservation efforts of threatened species, and strict groundwater monitoring.
