Glencore's $1.5bn coalmine a step closer after Queensland grants special status

If greenlit, Valeria open-cut coalmine would dig up 20m tonnes of the fossil fuels over 35 years

The Switzerland-based mining company Glencore will push ahead with a proposed $1.5bn open-cut coalmine after the Queensland government announced it had granted the project special status on Friday.

The Queensland government's decision will bring environmental and other assessments for the mine, which would dig up 20m tonnes of the fossil fuel annually for 35 years, under the office of the state's coordinator general.