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New Scientist: Australia’s Galilee Basin, located in Queensland, contains large reserves of coal. To tap that resource, several mining projects have been proposed that would involve the expansion of the Abbot Point shipping port for exporting the coal abroad. To expand the port, millions of tons of soil and sediment are to be dredged up and dumped inside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The recent approval of the dredging project by the Australian government has prompted a petition by conservationists and scientists, who point out the potential adverse environmental effects such a project could have, including the smothering of the coral and seagrass. Also, an increase in the number of ships traveling in the area will increase the risk of collisions with marine life and with the reef itself.
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Great Barrier Reef threatened by coal mining project Free
5 February 2014