“That sharpening of the plan has kept operating costs to a minimum and ensured the project remains within the first quartile of the global cost curve,” Adani’s Australian CEO Lucas Dow said in emailed comments. The company has not disclosed the cost of the smaller mine and a 200-km rail line it built tying into an existing railway, but the project has been estimated at A$2 billion ($1.5 billion). “It is quite a celebration because this is going to be the last true greenfield thermal coal mine in Australia,” said Lloyd Hain, MD of consulting firm AME Group.