UPDATE: Here is the media coverage.  The Age/SMH, ABC Gippsland, Australian Mining, Renew Economy.  I also did interviews with Win TV and live on ABC Gippsland which I can’t find.

Our report for Environment Victoria on the future of Victoria’s brown coal has been released!  The main findings are that Victoria is unlikely to develop a viable bulk coal export industry due to:

• Low quality of the coal
• Processing costs of turning such low rank coal into some marketable product
• Transport costs to major buyers

Competing areas such as Queensland, Indonesia, Mongolia and others do not have these costs.

Even if a coal export project went ahead claims of thousands of jobs and billions in royalties are implausible, even on proponents’ own figures.

Get the report here:

Undermined or overburdened? Victoria’s brown coal: an economic perspective