A strategy that required Hunter Valley Operations coal mine to manage the social and economic consequences of the mine's closure was scrapped, a hearing into a proposal to extend the mine's operation into the 2040s has heard.
Mining at HVO north was anticipated to last for 21 years when it was approved in 2004. That deadline was extended by 18 months in April 2025.
The Independent Planning Commission (IPC) is assessing an application to extend operations at HVO for an additional 19 years.
A Lock the Gate Alliance review of documents dating back to 2004 found that HVO North was required by the NSW Department of Planning to create a mine exit strategy within five years of receiving approval.
An independent audit completed in 2022 was unable to find the strategy.
It appears that when the 18-month extension of mining was approved in April 2025, the mine exit strategy condition was quietly deleted.
"For more than two decades, HVO was required to have a strategy to prepare the region for the end of mining at the site. Had Glencore actually developed a mine exit strategy, the workforce at HVO would have a safety net," Lock the Gate Alliance national coordinator Georgina Woods said.
"It appears that Glencore and the Planning Department worked together to remove this key condition just when it was needed most, less than two years before mining was due to cease. We are calling on Glencore to fix this neglect and publicly commit to funding fair and generous transition arrangements for its workforce and the wider economy of the Hunter region.
The absent mine exit strategy was raised by several speakers on the third day of the IPC's public hearing on Wednesday.
Lock the Gate has also written to the commission asking it to consider the new information.
Hunter Valley Operations general manager Dave Foster said it was disingenuous to suggest that the company did not care for the welfare of its workforce.
"Meeting our agreed consent obligations to support our workforce represent our starting point, not our finish line," he said.
Lock the Gate and Hunter Jobs Alliance are referring to Modification 8 (Mod 8) which was an 18-month extension approved to HVO North to allow additional time to continue mining and for the assessment of the Amended HVO Project.
"Both Mod 8 and the recommended consent conditions for the Amended HVO Project (currently before the IPC) include requirements to minimise adverse socio-economic effects related to mine closure."
Hunter Jobs Alliance coordinator Justin Page said the alliance had been constantly warning that, while governments had been talking about transition, they had failed to put institutions and policies in place to protect coal workers and coal communities.
"What's happening at HVO demonstrates exactly why we've been raising the alarm," he said.
"Professor Roy Green's review of the Net Zero Economy Authority legislation recognised that coal workers and coal-dependent communities need dedicated support. Yet the current arrangements still leave many Hunter coal workers without the certainty they deserve."
"We cannot keep talking about transition while leaving the people most affected waiting for support."
The alliance is among a number of Hunter stakeholders that have voiced concern that NSW Future Jobs and Investment Authority legislation remains bogged in the Legislative Council, while the region's communities face an uncertain future.
"Every month of delay is another month without the long-term planning and investment the Hunter needs," Mr Page said.
"The biggest gap in our transition framework is that coal companies are still not legally required to plan for, or financially contribute to, managing the social and economic impacts of mine closures."
A Department of Planning spokeswoman said the consent condition for a HVO north mine exit strategy was replaced by a rehabilitation strategy in Modification 8.
The rehabilitation strategy is a contemporary, adaptable approach which includes requirements to investigate opportunities to refine and improve the final landform, minimise adverse socio-economic effects associated with mine closure, and for a post-mining land use strategy.
"The NSW Government is partnering with coal-producing regions through the Future Jobs and Investment Authority, committing $27.3 million over four years to fund the establishment of the Authority to support future jobs and industry growth across the four regions," the spokeswoman said.
"The Mt Arthur Coal Mine and Macquarie Coal Complex masterplans will facilitate the re-development of mining land, with the unlocked land capable of supporting 5,900 and 1,130 new jobs respectively. The master plans are currently on public exhibition until 11 August 2026."
