According to a Rockhampton Morning Bulletin report, the Yeppoon Road Quarry applied to the Rockhampton Regional Council to expand its existing hard rock quarry in Norman Gardens, Queensland by an additional 18ha.
The application included the quarry operator’s proposed extension and the portion of land where the original approvals had expired.
Although the application proposed an 18ha expansion within the 66ha site, production is set to remain unchanged at roughly 240,000 tonnes per annum (tpa).
The quarry will also have a maximum output of 315,000 tpa.
As stated in the report, Norman Gardens, the suburb in which the quarry is located was included in the extractive industry zone, which allowed extraction of aggregate quality rock to be done without the need for council approval.
"On-site activities will include periodic blasting, mechanical extraction of quarry material and transportation of quarried material to the on-site crushing and screening plant and stockpiling of products," the report stated.
"Material is subsequently taken off-site by road transport trucks via Yeppoon Road."
During the application's public consultation period, concerns were raised about the impact of dust, noise and traffic on nearby homes in Norman Gardens properties.
However, council investigations reportedly concluded an expansion within the site wouldn't have a greater impact than current operations.
Additionally, Yeppoon Road Quarry would not be undertaking blasting during weekends.
The extension was given preliminary conditional approval, with the application still subject to a final decision at an upcoming Rockhampton Regional Council general meeting.
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