The council will hold an extraordinary meeting on Monday night to discuss Mayor Martin Rush's move to withdraw council support for mine construction to begin.

Councillors closed ranks around Cr Rush yesterday, some claiming they supported the unusual move and others declining to comment before the council meeting.

One councillor, who did not want to speak publicly, told The Herald the council has been under "enormous pressure" to allow work to begin as soon as possible.

The council voted in November to allow construction to start at Anvil Hill, despite advice from Xstrata that trucks would need to use the western part of Wybong Road.

Briefing papers given to councillors in November and seen by The Herald include an October 29 letter to the council from Xstrata Mangoola project manager Scott Elliot asking for approval for works to begin.

Mr Elliot told the council that construction trucks would need to access the mine from the west.

"Our commitments . . . extend to cover the additional use of the west section of Wybong Road until practical completion of the upgrade of Wybong Road East," Mr Elliot wrote.

The council would also have been aware of the possibility of trucks using the road in July when it adopted a memorandum of understanding with Xstrata, stating that the company would rehabilitate western Wybong Road after early works were complete.

The council allowed work to begin but performed a sensational backflip after the death of contractor Dave Patten on the road last week.

Cr Rush wrote to Xstrata asking for a new traffic plan and cited safety concerns and confusion over whether Xstrata had permission to travel along western Wybong Road.

The move will not affect the mine's development approval, as the Department of Planning has allowed only council input into traffic matters.