But the compromise means that, over 30 years, royalty payments to the NSW treasury will drop from US$3 billion to US$2 billion and the number of direct and indirect jobs will fall by 1,115. NSW Planning and Infrastructure concluded the exclusion of sensitive land from mining had come at a high cost to both Illawarra Coal and the state government and with significant flow-on effects to the local, regional and state communities. Despite the reduction, the project still expected to deliver a $6.9 billion total benefit to Illawarra Coal, the NSW Government and the Illawarra region.
Continuing longwall mining operations at the Appin Mine and West Cliff Colliery will extend the life of mining operations by 30 years. Illawarra Coal has been granted permission to extract 10.5 million metric tons of coal a year.
