Hunter Valley Coal Mines

Australia is heavily dependent on coal, with over 80% of electricity sourced from coal-fired power. The Hunter Valley region in New South Wales has a large coal industry including massive mostly opencast mines and the port of Newcastle, the world's largest coal export point, currently exporting 80 million tonnes of coal annually. Plans are underway to expand capacity over the next five years to at least 120 million tonnes annually. While coal companies and government cannot get Hunter Valley coal out fast enough, local farmers and residents are alarmed at the environmental and social impacts of coal dependency. There is a growing community belief that the costs of the region's coal industry vastly outweigh any perceived benefits. The Hunter Valley Coal Chain (HVCC) is the chain of coal delivery in New South Wales, Australia from (mainly open-cut) coal mines in the Hunter Valley to the Port of Newcastle and to domestic coal-fired power stations in the Hunter Valley.