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Indian-controlled Australian coal mine hits legal hurdle

Xinhua, August 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

Australian environmentalists claimed Wednesday they have won a court case against the controversial Indian-controlled Carmichael coal mine in Queensland's Galilee Basin.

The Mackay Conservation Group launched a challenge against Australia's environment minister granting approval to the controversial coal mine earlier this year, saying departmental advice regarding the impact of two threatened animal species was ignored.

The group told local media on Wednesday Australia's Federal Court - sitting in Sydney - has ruled Environment Minister Greg Hunt's approval was invalid after the minister conceded to the court that he failed to properly assess the project.

The Federal Department of the Environment told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) the ruling was taken at the request of "all of the parties to the court proceedings."

"This is a technical, administrative matter and to remove this doubt, the department has advised that the decision should be reconsidered," the department said in a statement.

"Reconsidering the decision does not require revisiting the entire approval process.

"Without pre-empting a final decision about the project, the department expects that it will take six to eight weeks to prepare its advice and the supporting documentation, and for the minister to reconsider his final decision."

Adani Mining, in a statement, said they were confident in Hunt' s office reconsidering their environmental approval application due to the "technical legal error." However, it stressed the need to finalize the approval process was "critical."

"Adani is confident the conditions imposed on the existing approval are robust and appropriate once the technicality is addressed," the statement said.

The court's decision leaves Adani, which is yet to secure sufficient financial backing for the controversial mine without legal authority to begin construction.

Queensland's State Development Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said he saw the incident as a speed-bump, saying the matter was a technical issue for Australia's federal government.

The 16.5 billion Australian dollar (12.16 billion U.S. dollar) coal mine is the largest in Australian history. Endi