Australian officials in India to formalise coal mining project with Adani

Australian officials are in India for formalisation of a deal that would set the stage the undertaking of a massive mining exploration programme in Australia.

Federal resources minister Martin Ferguson and Queensland premier Campbell Newman are in India for the announcement by India's Adani Group that it was ready to proceed with a multi-billion dollar mining project in the Galilee basin.

The Adani Group has completed a comprehensive geotechnical field investigation of the coal tenement in the world, estimated at 10 billion tones worth $10 billion which makes it the largest in the world.

According to the company, the project would include the construction of a mine, rail and port infrastructure and create 4000 long-term jobs.

According to the Adani Group chairman, Gautam Adani, the company's partnership with Australia and Queensland had been one of ''exceptional trust, transparency and understanding''.  

''Australian industry and the Indian corporates like the Adani Group have some distinctive synergies, which will prove to be of mutual benefit to all in the long run,'' Adani said in a statement yesterday.