Not in our backyard, locals tell upbeat mining company

The Age (Australia)
"A MINING company searching for coal just outside Bacchus Marsh, about 50 kilometres west of Melbourne, says its early findings are much better than expected, with an estimated 1 to 2 billion tonnes of export-quality brown coal in the area. But West Australian company Mantle Mining could have a fight on its hands, with the local community bitterly opposed to its plans for an open-cut mine. ....The company has drilled four holes around Parwan, a farming community on the southern fringe of Bacchus Marsh, as part of a 15-hole exploration. It says two of the holes contain coal seams that are more than 50 metres thick, and that the cumulative coal thickness is 146 metres, which exceeds the company's expectations by more than 25 per cent. ......Friends of the Earth spokesman Cam Walker said approving any new coal mine in Victoria would be a retrograde step as the government should be focusing on renewable energy. ''The time for new coal developments is over in Victoria,'' Mr Walker said. ''There's no justification in general for new coal mining operations and certainly not in prime agricultural country.'' H/T Andrew Bolt