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1,300 jobs receive a welcome reprieve but long term protection needed
The jobs of more 1,300 Hunter Valley mining workers have been secured for the next two years with the NSW Planning Commission today approving a small modification to Rio Tinto Coal & Allied’s Mount Thorley Warkworth mining operation.
“This is a good decision that will enable Coal & Allied to maintain production at current levels for around two years, protecting the livelihoods of over 1,300 local workers and their families during that period,” NSW Minerals Council CEO, Stephen Galilee said today.
“This project has been operating for over thirty years, and is an economic mainstay for the region, driving 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.”
“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.
“While this outcome delivers some short term protection for the local economy and jobs, it is important that a longer term solution be found to protect the jobs of the 1300 local miners who rely on the continued operation of the mine for their own future,” he said.
Contact: Brad Emery-
– 0450 620 254 – 9274 1463