There is plenty of movement happening at the Stawell Gold Mine as it continues to ramp up activity.
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It was a historic occasion on Thursday, with the mill switched on for the first time in more than two years.
“Over course of last few weeks we have been testing and commissioning but as of 8am this morning (Thursday) we started running the mill again,” Stawell Gold Mine general manager Troy Cole said.
“It would run every now and again when in care and maintenance but for the first time since December 2016 it is going properly.
“Over the course of the next few weeks we will continue early mill feeds and aim to to go into gold production by early February.”
Mr Cole said the running of the mill is a significant achievement for the mine.
“It is quite a milestone. We are incredibly appreciative of the hard work from everyone that has helped us get to where we are now,” he said.
“The enormity of switching these things on again has taken a lot of effort from a lot of people.
“It is quite an exciting time.”
The running of the mill is one of several key milestones the mine has celebrated in recent weeks.
“We have welcomed in a new mining fleet that has arrived over course of last week which is quite exciting," Mr Cole said.
“We will continue to tidy up the build phase and keep moving towards the operations phase.”
The ongoing growth of the mine as well as the Nectar Farms and Bulgana Green Power Hub projects have made a significant impact on Stawell, with Northern Grampians Shire planning on how to accomodate for the growth.
“We’re looking at housing development as well as looking to recruit families to the area,” Northern Grampians Shire Council mayor Kevin Erwin said.
“It’s an exciting time within our shire with plenty of opportunities available and we’re hopeful that it all will come to fruition.”
The influx of workers has also had a significant impact on the rental market in Stawell.
“We’re very short on rentals at the moment and before last Christmas we probably had the town filled completely which meant those looking to rent had to branch outside of the area at times,” Monaghan’s Real Estate director Terry Monaghan said.
“There’s so many things going on in our region at the moment, I definitely see this as a generational change and something that is going to continue for the foreseeable future.”
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