Pembroke Resources’ Olive Downs project near Moranbah, Central Queensland, has been thrown a lifeline by the Federal Government.

The National Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) has approved a $175m loan to support the $900m metallurgical coal project in the Bowen Basin.

Federal Resources, Water and Northern Australia Minister Keith Pitt said the Olive Downs project will support up to 700 jobs during construction and more than 500 new jobs when operational.

“NAIF has approved a loan of $175 million to support the mine’s first stage of development which includes rail, and transmission lines, water pipelines, access roads and a coal handling preparation plant,” he said.

The coal will be taken by rail to the coal terminal at Dalrymple Bay for export to key markets in Asia.

Mr Pitt says this project will generate royalties and export income for Queensland and Australia for many years ahead.

“The NAIF investment will be an important contribution to a project which is expected to return more than $10 billion to the Australian economy over the mine’s lifetime, and provide jobs for people in Moranbah, Dysart and Mackay,” he said.

Olive Downs, once fully-developed, will be one of the largest metallurgical mines in the world, producing up to 55mtpa of high-quality coking coal and pulverised coal injection products (PCI), over an anticipated operational mine life of 66 years.

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