Yancoal Australia is one of Australia’s largest pure-play coal producers. In the Hunter Valley of NSW, Yancoal Australia owns three mines within close proximity to Newcastle, the world’s largest coal port. Since 2001, Kleinfelder has helped Yancoal determine the short- and long-term effects of these three mining operations to surrounding biodiversity and ecosystem function.

Beginning A Long-Term Biodiversity Lifecycle

As part of their conditions of consent, Yancoal is required to perform extensive ecological monitoring within nominated conservations areas surrounding each operation. Because of the proximity of Yancoal’s three operating coal mines to the city of Newcastle and several conservation parks, biodiversity and overall ecosystem function is highly sensitive to disturbances such as open-cut and underground mining. Kleinfelder needed to provide long-term ecological monitoring to identify any changes in biodiversity, and design appropriate ameliorative measures if required.

More Information Through Innovation

Kleinfelder’s ecological experts began performing biodiversity surveys to collect initial data on each of the three sites. In addition to standard biodiversity survey techniques, Kleinfelder also included additional methods to provide a broader picture of biodiversity within the wider area—including multiple nest box programs within rehabilitation areas, targeted threatened species surveys, temperature analysis of nest boxes compared to natural hollows, and tailored survey design specific for statistical analysis—in order to provide the most comparative data.

Project Results

Kleinfelder designed survey methodologies with peer-reviewed scientific publication in mind, giving Yancoal greater social licence to operate as a knowledgeable of mitigation and offset measures. Kleinfelder’s monitoring projects and methodologies not only enable Yancoal to operate within biodiversity requirements, but also support Yancoal’s commitment to long-term biodiversity sustainability on mine sites.

Project Details

Location:
Beresfield, New South Wales

Owner:
Yancoal