Shire is confident Stawell will thrive

Shire chief executive officer, Justine Linley said she believed the impending closure of Stawell Gold Mines would not have a long term detrimental impact on Stawell's economy.

Crocodile Gold, the mine's Canadian owner, last week announced the mine would cease underground operations at the end of next year, but Ms Linley is confident it is not doom and gloom for the region.

"There's about 4,700 jobs in the shire and we're talking about 300 jobs - While it's a relatively significant number, the jobs are not all going to go at once," she said.

Ms Linley said council had been working with Stawell Gold Mines management for a significant amount of time, so last week's announcement did not come as a surprise.

"Internally as an organisation we've been reviewing a lot of the previous studies, plans and documents put together over the past 10 to 15 years, because at different times throughout that period a potential closure has been mooted," Ms Linley said.

She said council had been revising many of the plans put in place in the past, along with looking at the feasibility of a number of new options.

Ms Linley said council was hoping to capitalise on its significant investment at Stawell Airport by developing the base as a fly-in, fly-out centre.

She said council was in preliminary discussions with a number of companies about developing a charter operation at Stawell and was also consulting with the State Government to consider its options.

Ms Linley said this would be a potential boost for the municipality’s aviation industry, as well as encouraging workers in the mining sector to remain living in the region.

“With the resources boom interstate there is a demand for workers, in particular skilled workers,” she said.

Ms Linley said after 30 years of mining, Stawell was better placed than many other communities to provide those experienced employees.

“I’m not just talking about the miners themselves, but the businesses and workers who provide services to the mine, such as metallurgists, geologists, engineers, environmental engineers and the mechanics that recondition and create drilling rigs,” she said.

Ms Linley said plans to make Stawell a training excellence centre for the mining industry were also under consideration and that council was looking at the viability of both options in the lead up to the mine’s eventual closure.

“There is still a significant role for mining in the shire going into the future,” she said.

She said Stawell Gold Mines was just one company, potentially of many, that offered local employment opportunities for the mining sector.

Ms Linley pointed out the work Navarre Minerals was undertaking at its Tandarra prospect, where multiple zones of high-grade gold mineralisation have been discovered, along with the Donald Mineral Sands project, which is within the boundary of Northern Grampians Shire.

“Also, Australian Zircon is doing work to the west of us in Drung, which is on the border of Northern Grampians and Horsham shires, so there will still be a demand for mining industry workers in the region,” she said.