Xstrata Plc, the world’s largest exporter of power-station coal, won court approval to build the A$6 billion ($6.3 billion) Wandoan coal mine in Australia that opponents say threatens the Great Barrier Reef. Carmel MacDonald, president of the Land Court of Queensland, ruled that opponents hadn’t proved the mine would cause environmental harm justifying it being blocked.
See http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-27/xstrata-wins-court-approval-for-australia-s-biggest-coal-mine.html.