Loddon Shire councillors have been advised to approve a plan to revive open pit gold mining near Dunolly.
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Fiddlers Creek Mining Company, which is partnering with Truelight Mining and GBM Gold, has submitted a planning application to excavate 44,000 tonnes of ore at the 316-hectare site in a state forest north of the town.
The group has already received the go ahead from the state’s mining regulator, Earth Resources Regulation, who have granted a mining licence and approved a work plan.
A planning report prepared for Loddon Shire councillors, who will vote on the project at a council meeting on Tuesday, suggested the environmental impacts of the mining activity won’t be overly significant.
Read more: Mining set to resume in Bendigo
“The applicant has stated that no chemicals will be used and that material containing gold will be processed off site at another location,” the report read.
“It is considered that when suitability rehabilitated the proposed activity will have little impact on public use of the area.”
After the five-six month project in the historic Harvest Home Goldfield, the site will be re-vegetated with Red Ironbark and Red Stringy Bark while top soils from the area will be stockpiled to be used in the rehabilitation process.
However, the report does mention the negligible community benefits of the project, given the isolation of the mine, the ore being processed in the neighbouring Central Goldfields Shire, and the brief nature of the activity.
One formal objection came from a neighbour, who suggested mining may contaminate the water supply and increased movement of heavy vehicles on Harvest Home Road would further deteriorate a thoroughfare in need of repair.
GBM Gold owns the Kangaroo Flat mine but is yet to make a decision on when it will begin mining at the site.