Adani's contentious Australia coal mine edging closer toward development

The world’s most contentious coal project is edging closer toward development, potentially unlocking one of the biggest untapped resources even as a debate rages around the fuel’s future.

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s Carmichael is located in Australia’s huge Galilee Basin, which covers around 250,000 square kilometers -- about the size of the U.K. If the region is fully developed, it has potential to more than double Australia’s thermal coal exports, according to government estimates.

The Adani Group, which will self-finance the project after potential lenders dropped off, will also build infrastructure, including a vital rail line to help transport the coal to