Two key Illawarra bodies find themselves at opposite ends of the debate on extending mining at Dendrobium.
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Following the rejection of its plans to expand mining last year, South32 has lodged a revised proposal that it said would reduce the longwall mining area by 60 per cent.
Opposing the revised development is the Illawarra Aboriginal Land Council, which believes it would affect more than 30 cultural sites.
"Aboriginal cultural heritage, Aboriginal communities and the people committed to the protection and the preservation of our Country are constantly framed as the roadblock to economic development," land council chair Jade Kennedy said.
Two key Illawarra bodies find themselves at opposite ends of the debate on extending mining at Dendrobium.
"This action is comparable to knocking down a church or digging up a cemetery, which would understandably cause outrage in the community."
The land council also took issue with an Aboriginal Culture Heritage Assessment Report submitted as part of the new application.
That assessment stated that "avoidance of key surface features associated with Aboriginal heritage values" had been incorporated into the project's design.
"The surface infrastructure proposed by Illawarra Metallurgical Coal would avoid all previously identified Aboriginal cultural heritage sites, including rock shelters and grinding grooves," the study stated.
The land council believed the report "fails to adequately identify all tangible heritage that may be impacted by the proposed expansion", and includes swamps and "the heritage associated with the landscape" as part of that.
On the other side of the fence is Illawarra Business, which remains in support of the proposed extension.
The group's submission claimed the expansion will bring a $649.2 million net benefit to the state over the life of the project and would employ an average of 333 full-time positions over the next decade.
It also noted the expansion would see the Illawarra coal 'ecosystem' remain viable.
The submission said that 'ecosystem' included the Dendrobium, Appin, Tahmoor, Helensburgh and Russell Vale mines, the BlueScope steelworks and the Port Kembla Coal Terminal.
Executive Director Adam Zarth said the project would be crucial for the Port Kembla steelworks.
"Local coal mines play a critical role in supplying nearby high-grade metallurgical coal to the Port Kembla steelworks," Mr Zarth said, "Australia's primary steel making plant, which is likely to require coal for production for decades to come until 'green steel' technology is available in the 2040s."
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