The NSW Minerals Council is urging the government to save the jobs of 1300 Hunter Valley mining workers by approving the extension of Rio Tinto Coal & Allied’s Mount Thorley Warkworth mining operation.
“An approved extension of Mount Thorley Warkworth will provide certainty and protect the long future of mining workers in the region. This will also strengthen the local economy,” NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said.
“Current approvals allow Mount Thorley Warkworth to maintain existing production and employment levels until the end of 2015. It is essential that further approvals are granted to protect jobs.”
“This project has been operating for over thirty years and is an economic mainstay for the region that drives significant local economic activity. In 2012, the mine spent more than $210 million on close to 280 local suppliers in the Upper Hunter Valley. This direct spending also generated significant additional economic activity right across the Hunter region,” Mr Galilee said.
“The project also spent more than $90 million with more than 160 suppliers in Sydney and more than $600 million in total with over 980 suppliers across Australia in 2012,” Mr Galilee said.
Galilee also said that Mount Thorley Warkworth was committed to working with the local community and improving environmental standards, such as offering to provide more than 1800ha of land to establish a new National Park in the Upper Hunter as part of a larger package to secure significant biodiversity offsets in perpetuity.
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