Media Release

8 December 2022

Mackay Conservation Group has welcomed today’s announcement that Glencore has abandoned its Valeria coal mine proposal, a greenfield project near Capella in Central Queensland.

The mine would have produced 20 million tonnes of thermal and coking coal per year for 35 years. Up to 1.36 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide would have been added to the atmosphere by the mine.

According to media reports, Glencore has said its decision to withdraw the project from the assessment process “is consistent with Glencore’s commitment to a responsibly managed decline of our global coal business”.

Mackay Conservation Group coordinator, Peter McCallum, said “this is a positive outcome for all Australians. Our country is already being ravaged by the effects of climate change and this mine would have made the problem worse.”