India’s Adani Group to begin exporting from controversial coal mine

India’s Adani Group is preparing to export coal from Australia’s controversial Carmichael coal mine after years of opposition to the project.

“The first shipment of high-quality coal from the Carmichael mine is being assembled at the North Queensland Export Terminal in Bowen ready for export as planned,” Adani’s subsidiary Bravus Mining & Resources said in a statement. 

In the statement, Adani said the mine will produce about 10m tonnes a year. Initially, the mine was to produce 60m tonnes a year. The coal is expected to entirely head towards India; however, the statement did not confirm. They said instead that  "we have already secured the market for the 10 million tonnes per annum of coal that will be produced at the Carmichael Mine". 

The Carmichael project provoked opposition in Australia and globally since Adani brought it in 2010. The company shrank the mine’s plan in 2018 to 10 million tonnes a year following a "Stop Adani" campaign by environmental groups. 

The campaign forced  lenders, insurers and other stakeholders to back off. The Stop Adani campaign says that the company is expanding in fossil fuel rather than transitioning to cleaner energy.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp was the latest funder to pull out last month of providing financial services to Adani Group and its Carmichael coal mine in Australia, stating that the venture is incompatible with the bank’s environmental, social and governance rules.

The Carmichael coal mine is the first coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin where there are more reserves.