Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek will block a proposed thermal and coking coal mine over its “unacceptable impacts” on the Great Barrier Reef.
The project is backed by billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer and is located in central Queensland—home to large coal-mining industry.
“Based on the information available to me at this stage, I believe that the project would be likely to have unacceptable impacts to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the values of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and National Heritage Place, ” Plibersek said in a statement to The Epoch Times.
The environment minister also suggested the mine could affect water supplies in the region….