Adani’s clearing the way
ADANI is expected to hit the green light on its Carmichael coal mine within months after the company redrafted its production timetable.
Adani will today announce a staged ramp up to its planned 27 million tonne annual production target rather than attempt to hit this rate from the outset. The shift in concert with a new plan to use Aurizon’s existing narrow gauge rail network will cut Adani’s upfront capital costs by up to 60 per cent and simplify its search for finance.
Industry experts yesterday suggested the company may now need to raise just $ 2 billion to proceed with the mine.
Adani mining chief Lucas Dow insisted the ramp- up production model would allow the mine to begin sooner although he stopped short of naming a planned launch date.
Mr Dow said the Carmichael mine would be increased in “bite- sized chunks” over time with market conditions and financing to influence staging.
“It will very much depend on what those market conditions are,” he said.
“With this decision to break up the ramp up that has simplified the finance and that ( opening) date is not too far away from us.”
Adani’s plans have been notably scaled back from the days it was touted as a $ 16.5 billion mega- mine that would produce 60 million tonnes annually.
A recent report found that while Australian coal remained high quality and relatively inexpensive to import, production had flatlined since 2014 while global demand had increased.
Mr Dow said the growth trajectory of thermal coal debunked claims the Carmichael mine would be of no net benefit for the state.
He said India imported 137 million tonnes of coal last year and only three million of that came from Australia.
“The rest of Australian mines are really flat stick,” he said. “What we are looking to do is enter the growth markets of India and South- East Asia.”