About the Asset
The Maxwell Project is an underground coal mining development located east of Denman and south of Muswellbrook.
The project will produce high quality coals with at least 75% capable of being used in the making of steel and will deliver about 250 construction jobs and 350 jobs during operation into the region that will provide a real boost for the local economy, keeping families and young people in the region.
The project has been shaped by more than six years of ongoing consultation with the local community and our neighbours. Since announcing our intended acquisition of the mine in late 2017, we have been proactive to ensure our proposal is aligned with the expectations of our local community.
This has meant developing the area as an underground mine that would be vastly different from past proposals for the site.
It is Malabar’s strong view that this underground project can comfortably co-exist with other industries and land uses in the area.
At Malabar’s request, the NSW Government amended the exploration licence (EL) to give up the portion of the EL located beneath and to the south of the Golden Highway, and to restrict any future development to underground mining only.
In addition to this, and with the full support of Malabar, the NSW Government has added a further layer of protection, a State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP), to provide legal certainty that only an underground project can be developed within EL5460.
Throughout the planning process we have taken a number of practical steps to reduce our impact on the environment and the community. To that end, we will be using the established facilities at ‘Maxwell Infrastructure’ to process and rail all coal we intend to mine at the Maxwell Project.
Resources
Lease | JORC Resources (Millions of tonnes) | ||
Measured and Indicated | Inferred | Total | |
EL5460 (Maxwell) | 670 | 100 | 770 |
Project Progress
On 22 December 2020, the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) approved the Maxwell Underground Project.
The determination follows the project’s comprehensive and technical review by independent experts and rigorous assessment by the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (Department). The Department in its whole-of-government assessment report released in October 2020 concluded that the Maxwell Underground Project was “in the public interest” and “approvable.”
The project also underwent significant community consultation and engagement, including through the public exhibition of the project’s Environmental Impact Statement in September 2019 and a public hearing facilitated by the IPC in November 2020.
Malabar is currently reviewing the IPC’s determination, including the Commission’s Development Consent and Statement of Reasons.
Project Fact Sheets
Documents
22/12/2020 | Maxwell Statement Of Reasons | |
22/12/2020 | Maxwell Development Consent | |
22/12/2020 | IPC Media Release | |
11/11/2020 | Maxwell IPC Public Hearing - Wayne Seabrook | |
11/11/2020 | Maxwell IPC Public Hearing - James Johnson | |
11/11/2020 | Maxwell IPC Public Hearing - Donna McLaughlin | |
11/11/2020 | Independent Planning Commission Portal | link |
01/10/2020 | DPIE Assessment Report | |
20/11/2019 | Maxwell Project Submissions Report | |
14/08/2019 | Environmental Impact Statement | link |
06/2019 | Community Newsletter (June 2019) | |
27/12/2018 | Gateway Certificate (Maxwell) | link |
23/08/2018 | EPBC Act Referral (Maxwell Ventures) | link |
23/08/2018 | Gateway Application (Maxwell) | link |
09/08/2018 | Scoping Report | link |