SOUR GRAPES

It turned out to be abattle between grapes and coal andthe latter lost. Peabody Resources,a branch of Britain's Hanson grouphad to abandon its plans to developa US $10,156 miflion coal mine inAustralia's Hunter Valley, following a recent order given by the NewSouth Wales land and environmentcourt declaring the state's approvalfor the project as invalid. Peabodyand Rosemount Estates, one of thebest vineyards in the region, havebeen fighting a protracted battleover the Bengalla open-cut mine.Rosemount owns lands near theproposed mine site and expressedconcerns about the environmentalimplications of the project.