THE Australian government's approval for the development of the Carmichael coal mine in Queensland would generate about A$133 million (S$154.1 million) a year in revenue for mainboard-listed Linc Energy, as it owns royalty over the coal that is mined and transported.

Not only that, the value of the royalty contract - which can be traded - will also "increase considerably", said its CEO Peter Bond in a news release yesterday.

Linc Energy sold the underlying coal asset to Indian conglomerate Adani Group in August 2010, and holds an inflation-indexed royalty contract that provides for A$2 for each tonne of coal produced from the Carmichael coal mine for the first 20 years of production.