Mr BALDWIN - 1995-08-22
The recent decision by the operators of the Mt Todd mine to proceed with their phase-2 expansion program is good news, not only for the Victoria River electorate but also for Katherine businesses and the Territory as a whole. What impact will this development have on the Territory economy?
Mr Coulter: It is good news for Australia as a whole.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, certainly, the member for Victoria River has an interest in the massive expansion that is planned over the next 18 months or so. Pegasus Gold made this welcome announcement to some 80 Katherine business representatives in Katherine last night. The member for Victoria River and I had the pleasure of attending that function. We learned of the plans to spend some $208m on the phase-2 expansion of Mt Todd.
As the Minister for Tourism interjected, it is very welcome news for Australia. This major project will employ some 290 people in the construction phase and 210 when the new plant is operational. There will be considerable economic benefits to Katherine and the Territory. Those employees will receive salaries totalling some $11m a year. The annual operating costs to process the 30 million tonnes of ore per annum will be $100m. That will provide considerable opportunities to business people in the Katherine area and elsewhere in the Territory. For each person employed in the mining industry, the multiplier effect is 2.7 people to provide services and supplies to the mining industry. That gives some indication of the benefits that will flow to the Territory economy from this development by Pegasus Gold at Mt Todd. The beneficiaries of that development will include the local Jawoyn people who are joint venture partners in the Mirrkworlk mining operations under contract at Mt Todd. The mine is projected to produce 260 000 oz of gold per year by early 1997. That will make it
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the fifth largest gold producer in Australia. Pegasus Gold will implement an aggressive development program to achieve its development targets over the next 18 months. It will bring first-class technology to Australia in respect of the processing of low-grade ore bodies. This will be Pegasus Gold's largest project, and it has operations in a number of countries around the world.
I am very satisfied with the cooperation between the Department of Mines and Energy, other government departments and Pegasus Gold over the last year in the lead-up to this announcement. That cooperative effort continues. The company is finalising arrangements for a site for a 100-person construction camp. It will be in Katherine rather than at the mine site. That was one of the points that, as minister and member for Katherine, I pursued very strongly with the company. It is more appropriate for the miners to live in Katherine in terms of their lifestyle and the availability of services. We will be assisting the company further in whatever way we can to finalise the allocation of a site for the construction camp and its construction. It will be purchasing 7 homes in Katherine for its staff also.
This is indeed a good news story and is greatly welcomed. It will be good to have an operator like Pegasus Gold, with its new technology, at Mt Todd. Enormous benefits will flow to both the Katherine region and the Territory economy generally from this massive development.
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Mr Coulter: It is good news for Australia as a whole.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, certainly, the member for Victoria River has an interest in the massive expansion that is planned over the next 18 months or so. Pegasus Gold made this welcome announcement to some 80 Katherine business representatives in Katherine last night. The member for Victoria River and I had the pleasure of attending that function. We learned of the plans to spend some $208m on the phase-2 expansion of Mt Todd.
As the Minister for Tourism interjected, it is very welcome news for Australia. This major project will employ some 290 people in the construction phase and 210 when the new plant is operational. There will be considerable economic benefits to Katherine and the Territory. Those employees will receive salaries totalling some $11m a year. The annual operating costs to process the 30 million tonnes of ore per annum will be $100m. That will provide considerable opportunities to business people in the Katherine area and elsewhere in the Territory. For each person employed in the mining industry, the multiplier effect is 2.7 people to provide services and supplies to the mining industry. That gives some indication of the benefits that will flow to the Territory economy from this development by Pegasus Gold at Mt Todd. The beneficiaries of that development will include the local Jawoyn people who are joint venture partners in the Mirrkworlk mining operations under contract at Mt Todd. The mine is projected to produce 260 000 oz of gold per year by early 1997. That will make it
Page 744
the fifth largest gold producer in Australia. Pegasus Gold will implement an aggressive development program to achieve its development targets over the next 18 months. It will bring first-class technology to Australia in respect of the processing of low-grade ore bodies. This will be Pegasus Gold's largest project, and it has operations in a number of countries around the world.
I am very satisfied with the cooperation between the Department of Mines and Energy, other government departments and Pegasus Gold over the last year in the lead-up to this announcement. That cooperative effort continues. The company is finalising arrangements for a site for a 100-person construction camp. It will be in Katherine rather than at the mine site. That was one of the points that, as minister and member for Katherine, I pursued very strongly with the company. It is more appropriate for the miners to live in Katherine in terms of their lifestyle and the availability of services. We will be assisting the company further in whatever way we can to finalise the allocation of a site for the construction camp and its construction. It will be purchasing 7 homes in Katherine for its staff also.
This is indeed a good news story and is greatly welcomed. It will be good to have an operator like Pegasus Gold, with its new technology, at Mt Todd. Enormous benefits will flow to both the Katherine region and the Territory economy generally from this massive development.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016