Conservationists have welcomed the announcement that the Western Australian Environment Protection Authority's assessment of a proposed coal mine in the Kimberley has been terminated.
The mine, called, ironically, "Duchess Paradise", would have been the first coalmine in the Kimberley/Canning Basin region. Had it been approved it would quickly have been followed by many more coalmine proposals.
The mine would have been just a few kilometres from the National Heritage-listed Fitzroy River and posed a serious long term pollution risk to the river and groundwater. The trucking of the coal to Derby and subsequent barging of the coal across King Sound would also have presented unacceptable risks.
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