Brandy Hill is a major supplier of rhyodacite hard rock aggregates that are used on building and construction sites in the Hunter, Central Coast and Sydney regions. Hanson operates the quarry, which is 3.5 kilometres west of Seaham in New South Wales, and 175km north of Sydney. It has been in operation since 1983.
In March this year, Hanson applied to the NSW Department of Planning to extend the quarry, proposing to increase annual production to 1.5 million tonnes per year and to allow for a concrete batching production and concrete recycling plant. The proposed tonnage would almost double what is currently processed from the site.
As part of the application, Hanson is also looking to include 24 hour operations for sales and dispatch and to move and replace existing infrastructure 500 metres south to allow for the extraction boundary increase. The proposed expansion would ensure quality rock product for the area’s future growth and development.
Ancillary and concrete plant
Ancillary plant such as a mobile pug mill and a mobile pre-coat plant for asphalts form part of the proposal as well as new staff facilities. The existing office block, quarry crib room, amenities block and transport crib room block have been on-site for 20 years.
The proposal includes a new concrete batch plant within the quarry site. The concrete plant will supply concrete within the local markets. The plant is expected to produce approximately 15,000m3 of concrete a year. The batch plant is expected to add 2700 additional truck movements per annum.
The site is currently extracting about 620,000 tonnes of hard rock per year and there are about 150 truck movements a day. The proposed increase in production will result in an increase of heavy vehicle movements. A detailed traffic impact assessment will be completed to assess the impact of the proposed project on the local traffic network.
When asked how much the site contributed to the area’s economy a spokesperson for Hanson said potentially millions. “The site’s fixed and variable costs for 2012 was $11 million,” he said.
Hanson currently employs 18 people at the quarry and according to the Hanson spokesman, this figure would be unlikely to change. “It will remain at 18 for the short to medium term,” he said.
Hanson’s preliminary environmental assessment states that Port Stephens Council’s original approval, issued on 22 December, 1983, did not set production limits, hours of operation or transport movement limits. Application requirements include assessing environmental impacts, traffic predictions, and noise impacts.
Detailed engagement process
As part of the proposed project, Hanson is committed to working with the community to develop a project that can co-exist with the local community and has built on the existing engagement program to implement a detailed stakeholder engagement process for the project.
The detailed engagement process will enable the community to be involved in project planning by providing comments and feedback to help identify community needs and concerns.
This will assist Hanson to target specific areas of community interest during project considerations throughout the environmental impact assessment and approval process.
Sources: Hanson Australia, NSW Department of Planning, Port Stephens Examiner