Hillgrove Resources hopes to create an industrial park at Kanmantoo now that it has finished mining copper there.
The Mount Barker council is considering whether to change planning laws to allow a “major local employment hub” to be built at the mine site.
The hub would make use of the facilities and infrastructure available across 32 hectares there, including a number of large sheds.
However, the land is currently zoned for farming, making it difficult to develop for any other purpose.
Development of a long-term strategy for the area’s prosperity in the years after the mine’s closure was an objective of the Kanmantoo-Callington Community Consultative Committee.
Although the open-cut mine closed earlier this year, processing of the copper ore dug up there will continue into 2020 and the rehabilitation and revegetation of the site will take up to seven years.
Energy company AGL is also due to begin turning the mine’s giant pit into a 250-megawatt pumped hydro energy storage facility.
Water will be allowed to flow downhill and generate power when prices are high, then pumped back uphill during off-peak periods.
More information about the plan will be available at the Kanmantoo Hall from 4-7pm next Thursday, as part of a consultation campaign by the Mount Barker council.
Members of the public will be invited to speak to the council on February 3 if they request it.
Final approval will then lie with state Planning Minister, Stephan Knoll.
- More information: visit the Mount Barker council office, library or www.mountbarker.sa.gov.au
- Have your say: Write to kcmdpa@mountbarker.sa.gov.au or Andrew Stuart, Chief Executive Officer, Mount Barker District Council, PO box 54, Mount Barker SA 5251 before January 23.
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