But the company has shown no signs of walking away from the controversial mine proposal, saying yesterday it would continue exploration on another 26 properties in the area for which it has access agreements, or owns.

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Legally blind Mr Moore and his wife Robyn had refused the company access to their land until the Land and Environment Court ordered last Tuesday that they provide it.

The state government subsequently wrote last week to NuCoal asking it to consider suspending all exploration while the Independent Commission Against Corruption investigated its licence, citing ‘‘considerable interest and concern in the wider community’’.

Former Labor resources minister Ian Macdonald, who is the subject of a corruption inquiry, awarded the licence in 2008 to Doyles Creek Mining, which was later acquired by NuCoal. No tender process was undertaken, in breach of departmental guidelines.

State Parliament referred the matter to ICAC, which confirmed yesterday that it had begun investigating.

In a statement, NuCoal managing director Glen Lewis said it would not explore on the farm of Ian and Robyn Moore for the duration of its licence, which is due for renewal in about a year.

But it would continue other activities in the area, and hoped to produce a proposal for the mine before the licence expired.

Mr Moore described the news as a ‘‘great relief’’ that showed landowners could stand up to coal companies, but feared it would not be the last he had heard of the project.

‘‘The law needs to be changed, the landowner must have some rights,’’ he said.

Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham said NuCoal’s operations should be suspended pending the ICAC investigation.