In a bid to ensure the expansion of Rio Tinto’s Mount Thorley Warkworth open cut mine, Coal&Allied has submitted a new application to the Singleton Council requesting “approval of the closure of Wallaby Scrub Road”.
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This comes after the general-manager of the mine, Mark Rodgers, made a presentation to Council at their December meeting asking them to reconsider their position on closing the road.
He made it clear their plans can’t progress if the historic road remains open, and thus, jobs will be lost.
MTW is a part of Rio Tinto’s Australian operations, and managed by Coal&Allied.
And, despite the MTW continuation project being fully approved, the Singleton Council voted against selling the asset for a sixth time back in July 2016.
This is not surprising considering the convoluted history of the expansion project, including it’s perceived impacts on the small community of Bulga, and of course, the convict-built road.
The original plans for the expansion were approved in 2012 before the Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association (BMPA) appealed the decision in the NSW Land and Environment Court.
In a landmark decision Chief Justice Brian Preston overturned the approval citing the loss of endangered ecological communities, and poor economic analysis, among his main reasons.
Rio Tinto appealed this decision in the NSW Supreme Court but the full bench rejected the appeal fully supporting the original decision handed down by Justice Preston.
A revised plan was then submitted, and finally, approved by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission in November 2015.
Singleton Council’s Manager Executive Projects, Gary Thomson, says they recently received a formal application to close Wallaby Scrub Road from Rio Tinto.
“Council is currently considering the application as required by the Roads Act, and a report will be prepared for Council’s meeting in February,” he explains.
A spokesperson for Coal& Allied says Councillors have not yet indicated a response to MTW’s presentation at the December council meeting and the mine has submitted a new application requesting approval of the closure of Wallaby Scrub Road.
“As the owner of the road, Singleton Council is in the best position to authorise its closure without unnecessarily interrupting operations in 2017,” the spokesperson says.
“It has been more than 12 months since the independent NSW Planning Assessment Commission approved mining at Mount Thorley Warkworth until 2036,and the closure Wallaby Scrub Road.
“It is now essential for the 1300 workers and their families who rely on the mine that there are no further restrictions on the approved operation of the mine. This means Wallaby Scrub Road, which is inside the mine’s approved operating zone, should be closed.”
“MTW is committed to working with the community, Bulga residents, Singleton Council and the NSW Government to ensure a strong future for the village and for the mine and the economic benefits it generates.”
“We have been working to meet our commitments, including a $24 million investment to attenuate 75 trucks, drills, excavators and dozers to reduce noise, protecting and regenerating almost 400ha of Warkworth Sands Woodlands, and conducting extensive community consultation on how Singleton Council may invest $11 million from a Voluntary Planning Agreement with the mine.”
