Questions over Drayton South mine adviser

Opponents of the Drayton South mine in Australia have claimed that an independent adviser used by the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment to approve plans for the project has previously worked with Anglo American, the company proposing the mine.

Jeffrey Bennett, a professor at the Australian National University, has previously worked with Robert Gillespie, who wrote an original economic assessment for the mine proponent.

Coolmore and Darley have battled for a number of years to stop an open-cut mine opening near their premises in the Hunter Valley.