HVO THANKS COMMUNITY FOR THEIR SAY ON CONTINUATION

Hunter Valley Operations’ (HVO) General Manager Dave Foster has thanked the community for their feedback on its proposal to extend the life of its two mines. 

Mr Foster said the proposal to continue mining received overwhelming support during the NSW Government’s public exhibition of the Environmental Impact Statement. Of the more than 1,500 submissions lodged, more than 90% were in support of the proposal.

He thanked people who took the time to attend community information sessions held at Jerrys Plains and Maison Dieu as well as those people who made a submission to the Government. 

“Ongoing community and stakeholder feedback over several years has shaped the design of the proposal,” Mr Foster said.

“The strong show of support reflects the benefits of the proposal – continued local jobs as well as continued support to businesses, public infrastructure, community and charity organisations and community projects,” he said.

HVO is responding to the submissions in a report to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. The Government will consider this report as part of its determination process. The proposal is also being assessed by the Federal Government.

If the proposal is approved, HVO North will continue to operate until 2050 and HVO South will continue to operate until 2045. There will be little change to the scale or intensity of mining and no increase to approved annual production rates. At HVO North, the development and disturbance boundaries between Mitchell and Carrington pits will extend. At HVO South, the annual extraction rate will reduce, and some areas approved for mining will remain undisturbed.

Other features and benefits of the proposal include:

• local jobs for around 1500 people plus 600 temporary construction jobs during infrastructure upgrades
• continued support of more than 700 suppliers, many of them local
• continued support for communities and infrastructure through taxes, royalties, and other government payments that help build schools, roads and hospitals and fund the wages of teachers, nurses and Police
• continued community support through HVO community grants, sponsorships and charity funding.
• an $80 million realignment of Lemington Road and a new bridge to replace the flood prone Moses Crossing to give road users a faster, safer and more reliable route in wet weather
• improved final site rehabilitation using natural landform design principles with the number of final voids (pit lakes) reducing from four to two
• improved water management infrastructure with upgrades to Parnells Dam, Lake James, and new flood protection levees and clean water drainage systems.
  

For more information visit hvo.com.au/continuation.