Adani's coal exports to be low quality, will cause air pollution: Report

Coal mine (2) — A dozer unloads wheat next to a ship at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat, April 1, 2014. Reuters/Amit Dave

New evidence has revealed that Adani will be exporting low quality coal, containing high ash content which can result in high levels of air pollution, to India. Meanwhile, those in favour of the Indian conglomerate’s Queensland coal mine said it will be beneficial for the quality of air and bring down greenhouse gas emissions.

The mine will provide India “high quality” Australian coal. However, it has not been conclusively made clear whether the quality of coal extracted from Adani’s Carmichael mine will be of better quality. Minister for Resources Matthew Canavan said India will get the coal from somewhere if Australia does not supply it.

As noted by the ABC, sworn evidence to the Land Court in Queensland reveals Adani will be shipping low-quality coal to India. According to a report, “two coal products” will be produced by the Carmichael mine. One of these will be a low ash and moderate energy product ideal for Asian premium markets. The other one will be a high ash and low energy product that will suit well for non-premium markets like India.

Commenting on the plan to have products of two different kinds of quality, Canavan said varying products were created by companies for different circumstances. "There is also the opportunity to blend and then officiate that coal at the other end. That's a commercial decision for themselves," he said.

Meanwhile, Adani announced that its mine will be funded and “executed” this year. The funding will come with an opportunity to sell 40 percent of the Abbot Point coal loading terminal, worth nearly $4 billion, Adani Australia chief executive Jeyakumar Janakaraj said. His announcement came at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia lunch in Brisbane.

The expense for the development of rail will be $2.5 billion while that for mine will be between $2.8 billion and $3 billion, Janakaraj said. While the company has spent $3.4 billion until now, it will require US$2.5 billion (AU$3.26 billion) in debt.

Speaking about the quality of coal, Canavan said the coal produced from the Carmichael mine may not be of the best quality, but "it's still much much higher than the coal quality in India.” Despite sworn evidence presented in court, Adani reinstated the coal produced will be effective in lowering greenhouse gas emissions. "The thing about Carmichael is, it will reduce the carbon footprint of existing [Indian] plants, which are using Indonesian or Indian coal today, by say 30 to 40 per cent," Janakaraj said.