Coral Creek near Collinsville – 70km inland from the Queensland Whitsunday Coast – is a major waterway threatened by an engineered diversion to mine coal underneath with 100,000 tonnes of soil predicted to run into the Burdekin Delta, the Coral Sea and onto the Great Barrier Reef. Geology students travel for 3 hours from Townsville to visit the unique coal & fossil seams visible in Coral Creek that are now threatened by mining. The mining and geological history of Collinsville will be valuable for the future of our community and the state of Queensland. With its high ecological & heritage values & natural beauty, Coral Creek is treasured by the local community.
The Sonoma Coal Mine operates an open cut pit up to 30m from the top bank of Coral Creek. The coal pit and overburden stockpiles are located 3km from homes in the Collinsville Old Town and about 6km from the Collinsville Post Office. Less than 2 years after Sonoma Coal Mine began operating, a proposal was made to divert Coral Creek so that coal reserves lying beneath could be mined. The original Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project promised a buffer zone to protect Coral Creek. This proposal is a result of the application of the maximisation of the take from a mine lease design principle. In this case the coal deposit under Coral Creek represents 1.4% of the total for Sonoma mine. We have studied expert reports on the Coral Creek diversion and find that a high rate of erosion will occur that will continue for decades and the creek will not return to a natural state because the design does not emulate the hyporheic zone¹ on the creek banks and bed. (1) The hyporheic zone is located at the interface of aquifers and rivers, and comprises the sediments in which there is exchange and mixing of groundwater and river water. It is an important zone for pollutant, energy and carbon cycling, and may be an important component of the riverine habitat. (http://www.hyporheic.net/) (sourced 13/1/2022 from http://savecoralcreek.com/)
History
This website focuses on the important aesthetic and environmental values of Coral Creek and the threat to this special area posed by the Sonoma Coal Mine. The story began in 2006, when the mine was first proposed. At that time, the proponent’s environmental impact statement specifically stated that its mining activity would not affect Coral Creek. Two years later, the company sought to vary its approval so it could carry out mining directly below Coral Creek. The State Government, at the time, determined this expansion did not require a separate EIS despite advising in the amendment of the Environmental Authority (EA )to divert Coral Creek on the 13.4.10 that the level of environmental harm is likely to be significantly increased.
Since then a group of concerned locals have been struggling – against the odds – to ensure that Coral Creek is protected. We feel badly let down by the political process; this is a case where compromise is possible. Had the company stuck to its original plans and the original environmental approvals it obtained, we would not be in conflict. Only 1.4 % of the mine’s coal resource lies in the contentious area under Coral Creek! Why has the company not been required to stand by its original proposal not to mine this crucial area?