Boral’s request to expand its Dunmore sand mine now sits in the hands of the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission, after an online public hearing in late October.
The expansion will clear 4.5 hectares of existing farm land to facilitate 1.3 million tonnes of sand that is set to be extracted at the site as state construction demand ramps up.
Boral’s existing project on the western side of the Princes Highway has approximately five years left in its reserves, and the company has proposed to create two new sand mines near the Minnamurra River.
Adnan Voloder, Boral Resources’ planning and development manager for NSW and the ACT, told the online public hearing that the area cleared would be on existing farm land.
Voloder also said Boral’s surveys had not revealed it to be near an Indigenous massacre site, as claimed by other written submissions to the IPC, and will not impact the nearby Minnamurra River nor undisturbed forest belonging to the nearby Bangalay Sand Forest.
“If the Independent Planning and Assessment Commission approves the development, we would anticipate to commence works soon after this decision,” a Boral spokesperson told Quarry.
“The development will provide ongoing employment to existing staff, as well as new direct and indirect employment opportunities.”
The Boral spokesperson also confirmed with Quarry that the company would continue to consult the local community in good faith: “Boral has been consulting with the community on this development since 2018, and will continue to provide updates on any key changes.”
Boral’s Dunmore Operations are located in the Illawarra region of NSW and include a hard rock quarry, a sand dredging operation and Boral Concrete Dunmore.
The Dunmore operations have provided building and construction materials in the Illawarra South Coast and greater Sydney metropolitan regions for more than 90 years.