Mod 6 - Expansion of Coal Mine

I have been in the mining industry for over 8 years and it is my livelyhood, which in return supports my family and local business through the shopping and sevices we use. My children attend local schools and sporting clubs which have benefitted from the donations,support and sponsorship from Coal and Allied over the years. We need the extension to the mining plan so our livelyhood can continue in the area for the long term future.

Dear Minister,

I support Coal & Allied's Warkworth Modification application to gain access to an additional 350m of land owned by the mine, to avoid a significant drop in production and employment.

* I have been employed at MTW since 2004.

* I am currently employed as a machine operator at MTW

* I have many members of my family who also work at the mine, My wife and sister in law are employed as machine operators, My brother and brother in law are employed in the maintenance department, Another one of my sister in laws are employed with a contract company that works for MTW and I have many other extended family members who work for companies that supply goods and services to MTW.

* If MTW was to close or down size it would have a massive impact on myself, my children and my extended family.

Mount Thorley Warkworth provides a stable income for over 1,300 full time employees in the Hunter Valley. And the operation of the mine reaches into many other businesses that supply MTW. Thousands of people depend on this mine and if production was to drop, the result could be devastating.

We need certainty. We've been wondering what the future holds now for four years. If this minor modification to an existing, 30 year old mine does not get approved, I am worried about what this will mean for local jobs and investment across the NSW mining industry.

Please accept this submission in support of the Warkworth Modification.

Regards
Ben Gall

To the Minister,

I fully support Coal & Allied's Warkworth Modification application to gain access to an additional 350m of land owned by the mine, to avoid a significant drop in production and employment.

I am a recent university graduate who has undertaken my first full time role at the Mt Thorley Warkworth Mine. This mine provides not only a valuable learning environment for which I apply my studies, but it provides an income which is crucial to the wellbeing of myself and my family which depend on it. Without this modification to the mine I would be unemployed.

Mount Thorley Warkworth provides a stable income for over 1,300 full time employees in the Hunter Valley. And the operation of the mine reaches into many other businesses that supply MTW. Thousands of people depend on this mine and if production was to drop, the result could be devastating.

We need certainty. We've been wondering what the future holds now for four years. If this minor modification to an existing, 30 year old mine does not get approved, I am worried about what this will mean for local jobs and investment across the NSW mining industry.

Please accept this submission in support of the Warkworth Modification.

Regards

Dear Minister,

I support Coal & Allied's Warkworth Modification application to gain access to an additional 350m of land owned by the mine, to avoid a significant drop in production and employment.

I have lived in the Singleton area for 5 years and have worked at Mount Thorley Warkworth (MTW) mine for 6 years. My role at MTW is a project supervisor, and within that role i run projects that will be directly impacted by the reduction of tonnes per annum, such as upgrades, new facilities, and large maintenance projects.

I have three young children that attend a local shool and are involved in local sport. If MTW was forced to down size or close, my job, working for a projects team that are involved in a number of different ventures with in the mine, would cease to exist.
If this were to happen, my family and I could be forced to leave the valley in search of work, which would include up-rooting my children from school and friends.

Mount Thorley Warkworth provides a stable income for over 1,300 full time employees in the Hunter Valley. And the operation of the mine reaches into many other businesses that supply MTW. Thousands of people depend on this mine and if production was to drop, the result could be devastating.

We need certainty. We've been wondering what the future holds now for four years. If this minor modification to an existing, 30 year old mine does not get approved, I am worried about what this will mean for local jobs and investment across the NSW mining industry.

Please accept this submission in support of the Warkworth Modification.

Regards

Concerned Employee.

I would like to see the expansion go ahead at MTW so that there can some faith restored back into the mining industry in NSW. And a continued investment from Coal & Allied not only at MTW but also in any other projects that they are considering in the local area as well as Australia on a whole.

The impact on myself will be enormous. i rely on my job to support my family and pay my morgage. Without working at pit i dont know how it would be possible for myself to do this.

it has a big inpact on on my life and my family thats why i need this job

The Coal and Allied symbol has a proud history of Mining in the Valley. This mine undertakes the appropriate statotury and regulatory requirements to ensure it's long term viability. That is now at risk, further this current application is important to the direct employees and their colleagues (contractors and support services).
Strong industry leads to strong community, please ensure the viability of this business is continued. Strong industry has greater capacity for improving product quality and performance

As a productive community memebr and employee of Mount Thorley Warkworth who is raising a young family in the hunter valley, I would like to say that mines like Mount Thorley Warkworth need to be supported by the community and government. These are the biggest employers in the region and the lifeblood of the communities they inhabit.
Yes they do have minor impacts but they are managed well and the benefits to the community far outweigh the nagatives.
Mount Thorley Warkworth directly employs over 1300 people and indirectly supports thousands more.
We need to take a step back and look at what mining has done for the progress and people of our region.
My family and thousands like me depend on Mount Thorley Warkworth and what mining has done for the hunter valley.

The livelihood of my family and that of all of my fellow workmates and their families is depending on this extension. The flow on effects from the closure of this mine would effect thousands of people in the Hunter Valley.

I Adam Johansen,
an employee of coal & allied's mount thorley warkworth operation, 100% support the extension for the mining lease that the company has put forward, it is essential that this is approved, not only for myself and my family which depends on my job, but also the 1300 other families that are employed by the business at this particular site, aswell as all of the small local business' that depend on local people spending money locally.

I support it

I have been in the mining industry for 20yrs and been working at MTW for the past 7yrs. I've beleive if this is not approved then my employment at MTW is at risk and will have a huge impact on the community.

Given the current downturn in global markets, Australia needs to maintain it's international competetiveness. The mining sector has previsouly been a major source of income for Australia, especially during the boom of the past few years but with the recent slowing of the Chinese economy, significant drop in the coal price and fall of the $US, Australias competetiveness is at risk. To keep competetive, major mining companies have had to make financial sacrifices within their own businesses, including the forced redundancies of employees which has directly effected the local communities. If Warkworth is to continue to be a major contributor to NSW and to Australia as well as provide income for 1300 employess, it needs to be able to maintain the current production targets over the coming months

I support this submission

I would like to support the application from Coal & Allied -Rio Tinto to extend the Mt Thorley Warkworth mine. My husband and I moved to SIngleton in 2000 knowing full well the extent of mining in the district and the opportunities that this would afford us and our children in the future. Since moving to the area we have both gained employment in mining related industries. Michael is now an employee at the MT Thorley Mine and I work for an explosive provider. This employment and our location at Singleton has given us a chance to give our children opportunties that they would not have had. We are committed to this town for the next 6 years at a minimum as our youngest child start high school next year. But intend to stay much longer then that, we see no reason to leave the district. The loss of my husbands employment would be devastating to my family if we had to move. We have put down roots in this town my oldest son was 18months old when we came. We have been involved heavily in the local community with our children playing soccer, touch, pony club and swimming squads. Two of our Children are in the local Town band and the whole family are members of the local Gymkhana Club and the Valley Team penning Club. I have held position on the local play group committee, the local pre-school management committee, and the Gymkhana Club. We volunteer for our childrens school doing canteen, reading groups and driving children to school activities. This is our community and we do not want to be forced to leave it. regards, Janelle Sargent

I fully support the Warkworth consent modification. It will add significant value to the Hunter Valley region through employment & small businesses that provide services to the mine. The Singleton community should embrace the prosperity that mining brings to this region.

From the supporting documentation it appears that the MTW team have done significant work in determining the social and environmental impact on local habitats and communities. The offset offered to compensate for the disturbance of endaged ecological communities (EEC) areas seams reasonable and will ultimately provide a larger and more sustainable habit for the EEC. No additional disturbance seems likely from the proposed extension compared with the current operation.

I work in the mining industry and live near the proposed expansion and still beleive that for the benifit of the community and security of jobs that it should be allowed. I for one am very concerned about my childrens future and where the money will be coming from for their education if jobs are lost.

The Mount Thorley Warkworth mine is a terrific contributor to the Singleton Community and the greater area. It provides employment directly and indirectly, uses local businesses as contractors and suppliers, and gives money to the community through the Rio Tinto Coal & Allied community funds.