Xstrata won its legal battle against environmentalists and farmers to operate the open cut mine in Surat Basin in southern Queensland. The legal victory for Xstrata came after a court ruled that environment change is not sufficient reason to stop the development of one of the biggest coal mines in Australia.

The lawsuit was filed with the Land Court in Brisbane by Friends of the Earth (FoE) and nine landowners who tried to block the Queensland government's approval of the $6-billion Xstrata 11,000-hectare mine near Wandoan.

FoE insisted on the outright disapproval of the mine due to its impact on climate change, particularly its potential production of 30 million tonnes of coal a year which would create 49 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from the power used to run the mine.

In turn, the emissions made by end users that would burn the coal would make up for 0.15 per cent of yearly global pollution, while over a 30-year period, it would emit 1.3 million tons of GHG.

In opposing an outright ban, lawyers for Xstrata argued that the economic benefits to the state of the mine would outweigh environmental concerns.

"The issue of climate change is clearly a matter of general public interest and a matter which may militate against the grant of the proposed leases." Land Court President Carmel MacDonald explained.

"However, it is only one of a number of matters that the court must weigh up in considering whether the public right and interest will be prejudiced by the project," Ms MacDonald said.

However, the judge recommended certain conditions before the grant of the mining leases, such as the exclusion of some landowners' properties from the lease areas and for Xstrata to work closely with the Department of Environment and Resource Management to develop a system that would track ground water in the area and its impact on landowners.

Xstrata Coal Queensland Chief Reinhold Schmidt said the miner has acted openly and honestly throughout each stage in line with legislative requirements. He said the court's recommendations recognise Xstrata's commitment to environmental management and the firm's willingness to listen to and accommodate individual landholder needs.

Australian Greens Senator Larissa Waters warned that the climate impact of the coal mine project would devastate the Great Barrier Reef and the $6 billion yearly it would contribute to the Australian economy.

Farmers said that despite the Tuesday Land Court ruling, they would still push as hard to ensure the environmental conditions set by the court are met by Xstrata.

Originally, the Wandoan mining lease application covered 32,000 hectares and took in 42 properties owned by farming families. Of the 47 properties, 3 reached negotiated settlements with Xstrata and the rest went to court. When in full operation, the mine is expected to yield about 7 per cent of Australia's 2010-11 coal production of 405 million tonnes.