Australian court revokes environmental approval for Adani's Carmichael coal mine.

Australia's Federal court recently overturned government environmental approval for the Carmichael coal mine under construction in the Australian outback by Indian conglomerate Adani Mining .

Environmentalists hailed the ruling against the $16 billion project as a victory in their efforts to block the mine, which they claimed put the Great Barrier Reef under threat.

Adani, which recently suspended work in a number of areas on the mine as it awaits government approvals, attributed the ruling to a 'technical legal error' and said it was confident the matter would be rectified.

The Federal court ruled that the environmental approval granted to Adani in July 2014 by Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt's office failed to include conditions to protect the yakka skink and ornamental snake.

The Environment Department said Hunt would reconsider his approval in six to eight weeks, after taking into account an assessment of the impact on the two species.

The challenge was launched by Mackay Conservation Group in January.

Adani, which wants to ship millions tonnes of coal a year to India, has battled environmental opposition since starting work on the mine five years ago.

'It's not project dead because of a stuff up by the environment department,' Adani spokesman Andrew Porter told Reuters.

BS