Peabody seeks Wilpinjong Mine expansion near Mudgee, sparking Wollar community opposition

Peabody Energy has lodged a Stage 2 scoping report to extend open‑cut mining at its Wilpinjong Coal Mine near Mudgee, New South Wales, to 2038. The proposal would add two new pits covering about 550 ha and aim to recover an estimated 45 million tonnes of thermal coal without increasing the mine’s approved production level.

The company says the expansion would use existing infrastructure, including water‑treatment and air‑quality monitoring, and frames the move as sustaining one of Australia’s lowest‑emitting, most efficient coal mines to support local jobs and the Mid‑Western economy. It cites strong community support for the earlier Stage 1 modification, with 905 submissions to the NSW government, 608 in favour.

Save Wollar Action Group (SWAG) and spokesperson Bev Smiles warn that the expansion would bring mining closer to the village of Wollar, increasing dust, noise, blasting impacts and threatening water resources. SWAG argues the project would encroach on prime agricultural land, groundwater sources and the Wollar Creek catchment, and urges the mine to wind down by 2033 as currently approved.