Coal Allocation
Victoria is home to the second biggest brown coal resource in the world.
The state’s vast reserves of brown coal in the Latrobe Valley have the potential to provide significant benefits and jobs to Victoria.
Around 33 billion of the Latrobe Valley’s 430 billion tonnes of coal has been identified as ‘potentially economic’. Thirteen billion tonnes is currently unallocated and accessible.
Finding and driving new opportunities
The Victorian Government is committed to fully exploring opportunities to develop the state’s coal resource for the benefit of all Victorians.
The government is currently promoting the state’s brown coal deposits as part of a drive to find new ways to develop this world class resource.
How is coal allocated?
This important resource has been exempted from the normal application process for exploration and mining licences due to its strategic value to the state.
It is allocated by the state through a tender process, which is designed to deliver orderly development of a key resource in a manner that is of greatest benefit to Victorians.
The government periodically carries out allocations of coal in the Latrobe Valley to parties it believes are best placed to develop the resource for the benefit of Victorians.
Market assessment and engagement
An initial market assessment conducted in 2012 confirmed local and international interest in Victoria’s unallocated brown coal for development.
The process will now move into a deeper market engagement process in the first half of 2013 to further promote the development opportunity and to gain a more detailed understanding of market conditions and interest.
Next steps in the process
A decision to proceed to tender and ultimately allocate the resource will be guided by the potential to secure long term economic development, productivity and employment benefits for the Latrobe Valley and Victoria.
Government expects to make an announcement on the next stage of this process in mid 2013.
