Bimblebox Nature Refuge

From start to finish, Waratah Coal’s proposed development will wreck havoc on the environment and jeopardise the potential of developing sustainable industries that will out-endure the flash-in-the-pan quarry economy. The proposed mine will be one of several in the Great Artesian Basin recharge zone. It could destroy the 8000 hectare Bimblebox Nature Refuge, which is part of the National Reserve System but for which there is no protection from mining. The 500km rail will break up habitats, and deliver weeds and coal dust en route. The water pipeline will disturb the Epping Forest National Park, the only remaining habitat for the Northern Hairy Nosed Wombats. The coal stockyards, 2.5 km long, could leach dangerous pollutants into the adjacent Abbot Point Caley Valley Wetland. The expanded Point Abbot Port near Townsville, will put further stress on the Great Barrier Reef. And of course there is the thermal coal equivalent of 92 mega tonnes of CO2 that will be exported every year equal to about 16% of Australia’s total annual emissions.