Australian coal miner New Hope on Tuesday announced a resolution to the long-standing legal challenges surrounding its New Acland Stage 3 project.

In a statement to the ASX, New Hope said its subsidiary New Acland Coal and the Oakey Coal Action Alliance (OCAA), represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, had agreed to discontinue OCAA’s Land Court of Queensland appeal against the Queensland government’s decision to grant an associated water licence for the project.

The agreement, which was subject to the consent of the Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers, must be formalised through filing with the Land Court of Queensland. Once finalised, this would bring an end to years of legal opposition by OCAA and allow New Acland to proceed with its operational ramp-up.

New Hope chairperson Robert Millner said the end of OCAA's challenge gave the company confidence to progress its New Acland Stage 3 ramp-up plan and to develop the Manning Vale West mining area.

Since resuming operations, the New Acland workforce has grown to about 300 employees. Millner pointed out that the permanent workforce would reach about 400 full-time roles once New Acland Stage 3 was fully developed.

“New Acland Stage 3 ensures secure jobs in the region with more than 90% of the current workforce living within 50 km of the site,” Millner said.

In 2022, the Queensland government approved Stage 3 of the mine. Coal production is forecast to be five-million tonnes a year, with the projected life of the project about 12 to 15 years.