Residents of Bylong and surrounds had a chance to learn the development process behind one of the region’s newest coal projects on the weekend.
Beginning on Thursday Mt Penny Coal hosted a three-day open day, discussing past, current and future activity on the proposed mine site.
Project geologist and manager Michael Johnston said the open day was an opportunity to meet with the community at “ground level” and there had been a good turnout.
The Mt Penny Coal team has been liaising with the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance and local residents through newsletters, websites and open days.
Project co-ordinator James McGuigan said feedback from the open days had been positive.
“The residents are raising concerns we are well aware of,” he said.
“Comments about the road and where the employees are all going to be from are popular questions.
“We have an employment register and a contract register which people have been coming in to [show] their interest too.”
Mr Johnston said the company’s ongoing consultation is helping investigation of initiatives before development approval.
“We’ve had some concerns from the people of Wollar about the thinning of their rural fire services and we would be certainly looking at initiatives of training up our people to be a part of a bushfire management process,” he said.
“Some of the initiatives we’re looking at also include bussing [people from town to the mine] which is a real possibility. It has a lot of commonsense to it.
“In the accommodation and employment areas we would try and look at some skills based training maybe providing people who are unemployed with a set of skills to work in the mine.”
The environmental group carrying out studies for the proposed mine site, Wells Environmental Services, said the project accepts access roads will also need to be upgraded.
“One of the issues we’ve got to study is the state of the roads,” principal Alan Wells said.
“We believe the road has to be upgraded and we will pay our fair share of that upgrade.”
Mr Wells added Mudgee and surrounds has developed business to support another coal mine.
“The skill mix in Mudgee and surrounding towns can construct a coal mine and there is a sufficient skill mix that can provide the services to keep the mine ongoing,” he said.
Mr Johnston said there had been some small negative comments from the close communities but Mt Penny was dedicated to dealing with all concerns.
“Particularly in the [Bylong] Valley it went from no mining activity to what seemed like things popping up everywhere and obviously it’s going to generate some anxieties,” he said.
“The only way we can deal with that is to continue to engage with the community,” he said.
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