A tiny New South Wales town is embarking on the last phase of a legal battle against a Chinese mining giant.
Locals in the small town of Camberwell say at stake is the water supply, air quality and Aboriginal heritage of the Hunter Valley region.
Resident and dairy farmer Wendy Bowman says she has lost nearly all her land and 20 percent of her lung function due to coal mines.
"It does hurt, you do really feel like it was yours to hand on to somebody else," Ms Bowman says.
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"The dust was so bad that the whole house was covered in it all the time and then I discovered I had dust in my lungs and I lost 20 percent of my lung function."
Locals say that the project proposed by Chinese mining giant Yancoal will have a devastating impact on their tiny town and the Hunter Valley.
The seven-year project is expected to create 160 jobs.

