Hanson has prepared a preliminary environmental impact statement (PEIS) for the expansion of its existing hard rock quarry in Sancrox, located west of Port Macquarie, New South Wales.
The company has owned and operated the quarry since 1998 and estimates that approximately 55 million tonnes of resource remains at the 145ha site.
“Hanson proposes to extend the life of the quarry by expanding the approved extraction boundary to facilitate the extraction and distribution of high quality construction materials for the use in civil infrastructure, concrete, road construction projects,” the PEIS explains.
“Specifically, the proposed project will continue to provide vital construction resources to service the Pacific Highway upgrade and also accommodate further regional development in the Port Macquarie Hastings region.”
Project details
The proposed expansion project would extend the quarry’s life by 30 years and boost the currently approved 455,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) extraction limit to 750,000 tpa.
As part of this, Hanson plans to purchase the Crown land that currently fragments the adjoining land lots that comprise the Sancrox quarry site. The PEIS stated that the purchase of this parcel of land – for which the company already holds an enclosure permit – was a significant component of the expansion project.
“[It] will provide Hanson with the flexibility to expand operations in accordance with best site geology, site morphology, site topography, resource availability, and extraction ease,” the document explained, adding that the acquisition would allow Hanson to further investigate resource extraction in the north lot and help maintain adequate buffer zones between the adjoining sites.
The project also involves the upgrade and relocation of the quarry’s existing infrastructure – including its processing plant, offices, weighbridge and workshop – and the construction of a new concrete batching plant, concrete recycling facility, asphalt plant and pugmill. It was said the concrete plant would produce approximately 20,000m3 of concrete each year.
“[Since 1998, Sancrox quarry] has provided integral resources to facilitate regional and state development whilst maintaining and developing efficient operations to minimise detrimental environmental impacts on the Port Macquarie Hastings locality,” the PEIS stated.
“The expansion of Sancrox quarry offers significant regional and state advantages. Hanson is determined to maintain and further develop a collegial relationship with regional development and the surrounding community.”
At the time of publication, the PEIS was being considered by the government agencies that would inform the NSW Department of Planning and Environment in its preparation of the project’s environmental impact statement requirements.