Shire serves up sand to Victoria

THE value of South Gippsland Shire’s sand resource was highlighted by the launch of a pilot project near Nyora on Friday.
The State Government has joined with South Gippsland and Wyndham councils to unveil a pilot project to undertake geoscientific investigations and identify high quality extractive resources.
An inventory of natural, cultural, community and other land uses – including rail and road transport routes – will also be compiled.
The information gathered over the next 12 to 18 months will be assessed to determine the best way to secure extractive resources and quarry operations, while maximising liveability with local neighbourhoods.
Minister for Resources Tim Pallas launched the project with South Gippsland Shire Council mayor Cr Lorraine Brunt at Hanson Quarry.
South Gippsland Shire has 27 per cent of the state’s sand resource, in the north-west of the shire between Nyora and Lang Lang, and is ranked the most critical quarry resource location in the state.
Cr Brunt said, “It’s about putting some sort of planning around the area for sand mining and it’s how you consult with the community so that people understand what this mining is about.”
A report published last year projected Victoria’s population growth and urban development would nearly double the demand for rock, gravel and sand by 2050 above recent levels of production.
The pilot project will help ensure quarries can supply these raw materials well into the future, unimpeded by conflicts with urban encroachment.
South Gippsland Shire is expected to supply 22 per cent of Victoria’s sand and gravel and 34 per cent of its hard rock to 2050. Eighty per cent of South Gippsland’s quarry supply goes to areas of high demand in greater Melbourne.
The City of Wyndham is currently the largest producer of hard rock in Victoria.

Valuable sand: at left, at Hanson Quarry near Nyora for the launch of the Victorian pilot project relating to sand and rock supplies were Dr Elizabeth Gibson, general manager Construction Material Processors Association (CMPA); South Gippsland Shire Council mayor Cr Lorraine Brunt; Victorian Minister for Resources Tim Pallas; Brian Houser, state director Cement Concrete and Aggregate Australia; and Andrew Ritchie, operations manager of Hanson.

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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Feb 13 2018. Filed under Featured, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry