The nation's largest coal mine is free to proceed after Environment Minister Greg Hunt approved it with "the strictest conditions in Australian history", in a decision environment groups have declared "a disaster". 
On Thursday Mr Hunt said the Carmichael coal mine proposed by Indian mining giant Adani had been given the green light after the Federal Court in   August set aside the previous approval.
The project, which will produce up to 60 million tonnes of coal for export a year, has faced staunch opposition because its Abbot Point terminals are near the Great Barrier Reef. Opponents have signalled an intention to launch a legal challenge.
The government decision clears a regulatory hurdle, yet there remain questions over how the $16 billion project will be financed. National Australia Bank has said it will not fund the mine and other banks are being pressured to follow.
The court previously said Mr Hunt had not properly considered advice about two threatened species - the yakka skink and the ornamental snake. On Thursday Mr Hunt said his approval for the project, in the Galilee Basin in remote central Queensland, considered additional information provided by Adani and environmental groups.
The approval, which includes a rail line, would be "subject to 36 of the strictest conditions in Australian history". These include implementing all advice from an independent expert scientific committee and protecting and improving 31,000 hectares of southern black-throated finch habitat.
The approval will require $1 million in funding for programs to improve conservation of threatened species over 10 years, while strict groundwater monitoring and action triggers would protect Doongmabulla Springs, Mr Hunt said.
Mackay Conservation Group coordinator Ellen Roberts said the approval "risks threatened species, precious groundwater, the global climate and taxpayers' money".
Greenpeace Australia Pacific campaigner Shani Tager said the mine would be "a complete disaster for the Great Barrier Reef". "This project means more dredging in the Great Barrier Reef, more ships through its waters," she said.
Adani welcomed the decision, saying the initial legal hurdle was a "technicality" prompted by a mistake by the Environment Department. The company said it was always "confident in the soundness of the broader approvals".