The company, which has learnt a quieter approach to business is probably better, refuses to put exact numbers on its workforce.

There’s a good reason. Anything, including job numbers, are dissected a dozen different ways by its opponents to reflect their own arguments.

Adani says there are more than 700 workers currently on site but will not put an exact figure on it or say how many work in its Brisbane or Townsville offices.

But if there are 1200 beds does that mean there will be 1200 workers?

“We are building 3 x 400-bed temporary rail camps delivering a total of 1200 beds across the rail project. This will provide accommodation for 1200 workers,” a spokesperson for the company said.

That sounds like a yes. The camp at the mine site is being expanded for another 400 beds for a total of 1600. Adani said it was on track to deliver 1500 direct and 6750 indirect jobs.

The rail project alone will have three camps each with accommodation for 400. The first is already built and another is about to come online.

The company said the third will be finished soon and all the camps will accommodate 400 workers each.

The camp at the mine site is also being expanded to hold another 400 beds giving the project 1600 beds across the mine and rail project.

The Adani camps are being developed by Decmil under a $40 million contract. Martinus has the rail contract.

Mining camps are generally huge and many now provide one room for each fly-in, fly out worker. The Moranbah mine camp which services existing mines in the Bowen Basin has accommodation for 1200. Coppabella has room for 3000.

Excavation of the open cut mine, which will cost about $2 billion, began last week with the first coal expected in 2021.

Contractors have already started a concrete railway sleeper stockpile. Adani said about 90,000 of the 300,000 needed have been produced so far.