Clive Palmer coalmine next to Great Barrier Reef rejected by Queensland government

State environment department says proposal presents a number of unacceptable risks' due to its Rockhampton location

Clive Palmer's plan to build an open-cut coalmine 10km from the coast of the Great Barrier Reef has been deemed not suitable" by the Queensland government with its assessment now being sent to the federal environment minister.

Palmer's Central Queensland Coal project, which wants to mine up to 18m tonnes of coal a year from two pits near Rockhampton, posed a number of unacceptable risks", the Queensland Department of Environment and Science has decided.