The plan has not been approved by either the Queensland or federal governments and is awaiting evaluation before any mining can begin.

Protecting the black-throated finch from the mine operations is a long-running issue – and part of Adani's biodiversity management plans – that must be resolved before the Carmichael Mine can go ahead.

“Adani has submitted a management plan to the Australian and Queensland governments [that] was developed by ecological experts to protect the black-throated finch,” a company spokeswoman said.

“As part of the plan to protect the finches’ natural habitat, Adani has created a 33,000-hectare conservation area, which is one of the largest privately managed conservation areas in Queensland.

“At 33,000 hectares, the site is bigger than Moreton Island and 25 times the size of the open cut mine.”

According to BirdLife Australia, the range of the two species of black-throated finch has declined by 80 per cent in recent decades and is now found only in north Queensland and in the Galilee Basin.

Its website says the bird was last recorded in north-eastern NSW in 1994.

Adani announced last week it would self-finance a scaled-back Carmichael coal mine after being unable to attract additional banking investors.

Adani Mining chief executive Lucas Dow on November 29 said Adani would start producing 10 million tonnes of coal a year and would ramp it up to 28 million tonnes.

Originally Adani promised to produce 60 million tonnes a year. The capital cost is now estimated at $2 billion.

University of Queensland Emeritus Professor Tor Hundloe, a former chair of the Wet Tropic Management Authority and environmental author, said Adani did not have approval for its black-throated finch management plan (shown above).

"Notwithstanding that they have changed the area of the mine, they do not have approval for their offsets," Professor Hundloe said.

"They are talking about a large area of land, but they do not have the approval.

"They have to get agreements with neighbouring farmers and there are five of them. They can try to translocate the finch because that is basically all the offset that they can do."

Professor Hundloe questioned the effectiveness of translocating birds.

He said he had spoken with environmental officers in Canberra and in Emerald, and both groups had confirmed there was neither state nor federal approval for plans to manage the endangered finch.

On Friday, federal Environment Minister Melissa Price confirmed a management plan for the endangered black-throated finch was not approved by the Commonwealth Government.

A biodiversity strategy was approved in October 2016 but the detailed management plan had not been approved, a spokesman confirmed on Friday.

"The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 conditions for this project also require Adani to provide an offset area management plan for each offset property. Offset Area Management Plans for the project are yet to be approved," the spokesman said.

The spokesman confirmed the management plan for the black-throated finch was one of three outstanding issues for Adani's Carmichael Mine.

"Adani still require approval of the following before the commencement of mining operations: The Black Throated Finch Management Plan, a Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems Management Plan, and a mechanism to establish a pool of funds for the better protection and long-term conservation of EPBC Act listed threatened species."

Adani's conservation zone is to the west of the Carmichael Mine and in a statement it said it expected the plan to be "finalised" by the end of 2018.

Ms Price's office did not indicate a timeline for the plan.

Large numbers of black-throated finch are found in the Carmichael Mine project site and since 2012, consultants for Adani have mapped and studied the endangered bird's population.

In 2014, consultants GHD produced a study that summarised that new water sources for the endangered black-throated finch were needed, cattle in the areas dispersed the finch even in areas set aside for the finch and care was needed as fire breaks were built.

GHD reported that in 2013 black-throated finch numbers fluctuated with the water supply and detailed studied were needed.

It reported that the number of black-throated finches seen in 2013 at six sites had dropped 208 to 84.

"During the current survey, a total of 84 black-throated finches were recorded from all survey methods; six from three different 2ha counts; 34 from two water body counts; 28 from cameras at dams and troughs, and 16 from two incidental records," the 2014 study showed.

"All were adult birds and the most commonly observed activity was drinking. The largest group observed comprised at least 31 individuals at 10 Mile Bore.

"This is substantially smaller than the flocks observed in May 2013, when a total of 208 individual black-throated finches were recorded in observational surveys."