The move comes after more than six years of comprehensive environmental assessments and detailed planning, which included around 300 collaborative scientific studies.
GVK founder chairman and managing director GVK Reddy said: "This is one of the most significant milestones in the development of our Galilee Basin coal projects till date which will create one of the most remarkable pieces of regional and economic developments Queensland has seen for decades."
The approval allows the company to start operations at Alpha mine which will create around 4,000 jobs during construction and 1,800 jobs during its life of more than 30 years.
The company said: "With the Environmental Authority for Alpha Coal Project in place, GVK’s key focus is to continue advancing the project to a point where construction can commence.
"Once the infrastructure joint venture with Aurizon is finalised and the regulatory bodies have addressed litigious challenges to approvals, GVK Hancock will execute coal off-take agreements before finalizing all financing arrangements."
Alpha mine is said to host 1.2 billion tons of reserves and is expected to produce around 32 million tons each year. It will operate as a full open cut mine.
GVK Hancock is a joint venture of GVK and Australia-based Hancock Prospecting.
