Bimblebox is an 8000-hectare nature refuge in the Galilee Basin in central-west Queensland. It is an important site of biodiversity and is being used as a site for many long-term research projects in land management. It also lies in the path of what is planned to be Australia’s largest coalmine.
Nine huge mines have been proposed for the Galilee Basin. Waratah Coal, owned by billionaire Clive Palmer, has an exploration permit over the entire Bimblebox refuge.
These mines, which are yet to win formal approval by the federal government, are part of a massive expansion in coal production across Australia. These projects will cause Australia’s coal exports to double within 10 years.
The Bimblebox Nature Refuge website says: “Waratah Coal plans to extract 40 megatonnes of coal per year, which will be transported on a yet-to-be-built rail line up to Abbot Point and shipped through the Great Barrier Reef on its way to China where it will be burnt for energy generation.”
Greenpeace released a report in March called “Boom goes the Reef” that explains the huge threat these new coalmines pose to the Great Barrier Reef.
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Green Left Weekly
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