The revised Project site lies within the Cecil Plains Sub-Basin which is located within the western portion of the Clarence-Moreton Basin. In Queensland, the Clarence-Moreton Basin merges with the Surat Basin. The Kumbarilla Ridge is a basement high consisting of the Upper Devonian to Upper Carboniferous Texas beds and separates the Cecil Plains Sub-Basin of the Clarence Moreton Basin, from the Surat Basin. The Clarence-Moreton Basin represents an eastern portion of the Mesozoic GAB.

The economic coal-bearing sediments of the Surat and Clarence-Moreton basins occur in the Walloon Coal Measures. The Walloon Coal Measures are Middle to Upper Jurassic in age and are a part of the Injune Creek Group. Although the Kumbarilla Ridge is considered to structurally separate the Clarence-Moreton Basin from the Surat Basin, the Walloon Coal Measures occur on both sides of the Kumbarilla Ridge and are laterally continuous between the Clarence Moreton Basin and the Surat Basin.

For more than a decade, the New Acland open cut coal mine has been a major employer and economic spur to the Darling Downs region. It provides direct jobs for more than 300 locals, 160 contractors, and contributes to 2300 more indirect jobs.