CONSTRUCTION of a mine north of Balranald could be delayed following a recent meeting between Cristal Mining and Balranald Shire Council.
Cristal Mining is the company behind the Atlas-Campaspe mine, to be developed about 90km north of Balranald off the Balranald-Ivanhoe Road.
At a recent meeting of council, Cristal Mining resource development manager Ray Roberts told councillors the mine was on-track for clearing of the site to begin in early 2016 and construction to start in early 2017.
However, he said clearing may need to be pushed back to early 2017 depending on the situation with council rates.
“Council determines when the dominant land use changes… once you have a valuation you can start to rate, but when will council start to rate us as a mining lease?”
He argued that when clearing the site there was “no income stream” and asked council to hold off until production began.
There is a significant increase in rates levied when the land changes from farming use to mining.
Wentworth Shire Council currently has two mines in its region — both owned by Cristal Mining — which brought in about $859,860 in the 2014/15 year, about 18 percent of total rates.
It was second only to farmland rates, with 742 properties generating about $1.04m in income.
Balranald Shire Council has since decided it will re-categorise the land “as soon as works commence under the consent”.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Friday’s Guardian (July 10).
