Page
Northparkes Mines producing gold, copper and valuable food crops too
“
It might surprise some, but Northparkes Mines, located just outside of Parkes in NSW, is producing wheat, canola, barley and other crops for the NSW market, as well as copper and gold from it’s underground mining operations.
The case study, launched today by the NSW Minerals Council, is the latest in a series showing examples of mining and agriculture working together in NSW mining regions.
Northparkes Mines is one of the state’s largest underground mines and a large producer of copper and gold for global markets. It is also a major landowner running large local cropping operations.
“I’ve been a farmer since 1964,” says Northparkes Mines farm manager, Geoff McCallum.
“We farm about 3,000 hectares around the mine with no till. We grow wheat, barley, canola, field peas and lupins. The enterprise has been going since ‘97 and I believe the soil’s getting better.
“We’ve planted 10,000 trees a year since I’ve been here, so that’s around two hundred thousand trees we’ve planted so far.”
The new case study has been launched today in major metropolitan newspapers and will also be shown on TV and online and heard on radio in Sydney.
“NSW has a long and proud history of mining, working side by side with other important industries like agriculture to support regional towns and communities. This case study, along with the others we’ve previously highlighted in the Hunter, show that modern mining continues to do so,” NSW Minerals Council CEO, Stephen Galilee said today.
“For communities in the Central West, the Hunter Valley and New England Northwest, it’s vital that agriculture, mining and tourism continue to thrive. The economic strength of many local regions depend upon it.”
To hear farmer Geoff’s story and to see more examples of how mining and farming are able to work together go to
.
Contact: Chris Rath