Council signs off on the road to reopening Mount Morgan Mine
Published on 05 September 2017
The re-opening of the Mount Morgan Mine is almost within reach after Council today signed off on the haulage route from the Mine site to the Gladstone Port.
From 1 January 2018 to 2026, Carbine Resources proposes to haul around 209,000 tonne of pyrite per year along Gordon Lane, Creek Street/Razorback Road and Poison Creek Road.
Mayor Margaret Strelow said it was exciting to see the project progress to its final stages after a recommendation was handed down today outlining major safety improvements that Carbine will need to address prior and throughout the haulage period.
“At the end of the day, this is a mine in the middle of the town and we are very impressed with the way the company has so far dealt with Council and the community to get this project off the ground,” Mayor Strelow said.
“This is someone bringing the old mine to life, bringing jobs to the community, and fundamentally, this mine has extraordinary community support. Carbine are good community players and we wish them well for the last of their processes.”
Planning and Regulatory Committee Chair Ellen Smith said Council established a number of areas, particularly on Razorback Road that will need to be upgraded for the safety of the trucks and other motorists.
“Carbine is proposing to use 19 metre long trucks and Quad Dogs to haul pyrite between 7am and 6pm for twelve months of the year, which will traverse on Razorback Road,” Cr Smith said.
“It is estimated that two vehicles in each direction will be on the route in a peak hour and therefore significant safety improvements need to be made to cater for these heavy vehicles.”
Major upgrades include:
- Widen two reverse curves on Creek Street/Razorback Road to allow for a 4.2m lane on the inside of the curve. This involves providing a guardrail to protect steep verge grades and existing services, and extending existing culvert structures.
- Widening of the “jump up” on Razorback Road (the steepest part of the Razorback Road) to 8.5m and provide recoverable batter slopes outside this 8.5m seal with a guardrail.
- Upgrading the intersection of Razorback Road and Poison Creek Road which will allow for a channelised right turn lane for vehicles turning into Poison Creek Road and a wider radius for vehicles turning left into Razorback Road. Works will also include some widening of the existing Razorback Road floodway, north of the intersection.
- Upgrade of Poison Creek Road Western floodway to allow for two heavy vehicles to pass one another. The floodway will be widened to 8 metres and will include a low flow pipe to accommodate for less significant rain events.
Carbine will also be required to mitigate their impacts to the pavement and will compensate Council to a value over $800,000 over the life of the project.
This will be the biggest project operating in Mount Morgan since the mine closed in 1992, delivering seventy direct local jobs, plus a further 120 jobs in construction.