Moolarben is working towards a June start for its Stage Two expansion, Mid-Western Region business representatives were told at a breakfast meeting yesterday.
Moolarben environment and community manager Graham Chase and construction manager Chris Frost addressed a standing-room-only Mudgee Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting which was called to inform local businesses about the progress of the project.
Moolarben Stage Two, which received State Government approval in February, will include two new underground mines and a new open cut pit.
Stage One currently has approval to extract up to 12 million tonnes a year of run-of-mine (ROM) coal from three open cut pits and one underground mine.
Approval of Stage Two will potentially allow Moolarben to double its annual output.
Mr Chase said Moolarben was currently working through subordinate approvals, including Department of Planning and Environment approval for management plans, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) licensing, Federal Department of Environment approval, a mining operations plan and detailed design.
The company expects to call for tenders to provide services for Stage Two construction in two or three weeks, he said.
Mr Chase said Moolarben was specifically looking at local content for works including earthworks, concrete supply and steel fixing.
Moolarben expects that around 270 jobs will be created during the construction phase, not including ancillary services such as waste removal, transport, security and traffic control.
Although Moolarben’s owner, Yancoal, has stated that State 2 could create up to 120 new full-time jobs once in operation, Mr Chase said the number of full-time employees would depend on the operational plan.
Thursday’s breakfast meeting was organised in response to local businesses’ questions about State Two, and to address uncertainty about the future of the project amidst “mixed messages’ about the outlook for the coal industry.
Mr Chase told the meeting Moolarben’s expansion was the “number 1” priority for Yancoal.
Business owners were also keen to know how they could submit expressions or interest or capability statements.
Mayor Des Kennedy said the attendance at the Parklands Resort breakfast showed the extent of interest in the project.
He said from a local business point of view, people wanted to know how they could get their name out to Moolarben as potential contractors for labour, services or machinery.
Cr Kennedy said while it was easy for major mine developments to look to the Hunter Valley for services, the Mid-Western Region had also built up a good range of services for the mining industries over 15-20 years.
Mr Chase said Moolarben was looking at establishing an “internet portal” to allow businesses to lodge expressions of interest.
“A lot of people provide support for us in the local community and one of the objectives is to facilitate this as well as possible,” he said.
Chamber of Commerce member Ed Turner said business queries about the Moolarben Stage 2 project could be forwarded via info@mudgeebusiness.com.au.
Source: Robbyn Murray, Mudgee Guardian 27 March 2015
Link: http://www.mudgeeguardian.com.au/story/2972443/mine-talks-business-moolarben-aims-for-june-start-for-construction/?cs=1485
