South Korea-based POSCO's Australian unit Hume Coal Pty. Ltd. must address environmental and social issues before securing approval from the New South Wales government to construct an underground mine, Mining.com reported May 28.

The Hume mine is planned as an underground operation at a greenfields site in the Southern Highlands and is expected to produce 50 million tonnes of run-of-mine coal over 23 years. As of April 2017, the development was expected to cost A$498 million.

New South Wales' Independent Planning Commission asked for more information regarding the mine's impacts on various factors including water and air quality and the significance of heritage items and the cultural landscape of the area.

The request follows a claim by Hume that the mine's operation will have no impact on the community's water supplies and waterways.