Once the world's richest and largest gold mine, is set to roar back to life.
Rockhampton Regional Council has welcomed the announcement Heritage Minerals would re-open the Mount Morgan Gold Mine.
Rockhampton Regional Mayor, Tony Williams believes this major project announcement couldn't come at a better time.
"This is a project that has the ability to change the face of Mount Morgan," Rockhampton Regional Mayor Tony Williams said.
"I commend Heritage Minerals for their ongoing diligence, commitment and dedication to local investment."
"Rockhampton Regional Council advocated for the Heritage Minerals project and welcomes the recent Queensland Government funding announcement."
Mount Morgan Divisional Councillor Cherie Rutherford said the local community have been through some challenging times in recent years and this news comes as welcome relief.
"With long term water security now firmly on the horizon and the Mount Morgan mine now set to re-open, the community will certainly have reason to be optimistic about the future," Cr Rutherford said.
"Residents of Mount Morgan have been waiting patiently for things to turn their way and this really is another fantastic outcome."
As the lead economic development agency in the region, Advance Rockhampton is proud to have been working with Heritage Minerals since 2020.
"We are talking about a project that will support up to 250 jobs during construction and then around 150 jobs will be required to run the commissioned mine," Advance Rockhampton Executive Manager Greg Bowden said.
"This is a town with historically high unemployment, a project like this means local jobs for Mount Morgan which is a driving focus for Advance Rockhampton"
"Our team has been working in conjunction with Heritage Minerals, helping coordinate labour planning, community consultation, infrastructure upgrades and troubleshooting options for waste management. This is a project we cannot wait to see come to fruition."
The abandoned mine has attracted plenty of interest in the past, with many engineers left scratching their heads for how to sustainably recover gold and copper from the tailing's stockpiles.
Using revolutionary RECYN technology, Heritage Minerals plans to detoxify the tailings and assist with clean water discharge.
Heritage Minerals CEO Malcolm Paterson says local employment will be key to this project's success.
"Our local procurement strategy means approximately 80% of project spending will happen in northern Australia with the bulk of that occurring in the Rockhampton local government area accordingly," Heritage Minerals CEO Malcolm Paterson said.
"Plans to hire local employees are well underway with the assistance of Advance Rockhampton and the support of the Jobs and Skills program in consultation with federal and state job agencies."
"We have the potential to extract an estimated 263,000 ounces of gold and over 5000 tonnes of copper, the economic impact of a project like this will have the eyes of the world on Mount Morgan."
Let the gold rush begin again!
Pictured L-R: Mayor Tony Williams, Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick, Heritage Minerals Managing Director Malcolm Paterson, Heritage Minerals Craig Wilson, Resources Minister Scott Stewart, Member for Keppel Brittany Lauga, Councillor Cherie Rutherford
