Muswellbrook with Mount Pleasant open cut in the background. Picture Newcastle Herald

Coal mining companies will be required to give at least three years notice of their intention to cease operations under new legislation to be introduced by the NSW Labor government.

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Although some mines in the Upper Hunter have approval to operate until the late 2030s there is a fear that if demand and prices fall for coal, the mines may close at short notice leaving communities in the region that are economically reliant on mining in dire straits.

In 2014 coal workers and the Singleton community w

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