Quarry to generate 20 jobs

KIN Kin quarry owners, the Neilsen Group, have said they support improvements to roads in Kin Kin.

Neilsen's chief executive officer, Mario Panuccio, said it was difficult to estimate the number of trucks expected to travel through Kin Kin as “it is dependent on market demand at the time”.

“However, after a year or two it is expected the average for all directions will be about 30, up to 40 loads a day,” he said.

“We understand the community's concern for road safety and fully support improvements to roads in this area.” Mr Panuccio said the quarry would be of small to medium size, operating five to six days a week in accordance with the development approval. It would embrace all EPA conditions and through the life of the quarry, it was expected there will be an average of one to two blasts per month but there would not be daily blasts.

Mr Panuccio said once fully operational, trucks will transport material using surrounding roads, where street legal, registered trucks are permitted, including Kin Kin-Pomona Road and Dr Pages Road.

“Trucks already use these roads for haulage and we will insist that transportation to and from the quarry occurs on roads only where it is legally permitted to do so,” he said.

“Even at peak operational times, it is unlikely there will be any more than a handful of trucks housed on the site at any time.”

He said the local community stood to benefit through job creation and increased competition, leading to cheaper road construction and raw materials for local suppliers and retail outlets.

“The proposed operation at Kin Kin is expected to create approximately 20 jobs in the local community. This means that Neilsen's will be a major employer in the area.”

One of Queensland's largest independently owned sand and gravel resource suppliers, Neilsen's, will work the site from early 2010.

The site is located at the end of Shepperson's Lane and has been owned by the Shepperson family for more than 100 years.

Mr Panuccio said the quarry, known as KRA 57 Wahpunga Range, will meet demand and maintain competition for aggregate products in the region.

“Under the State Government's planning policy, the area has been identified as a Key Resource Area (KRA), which means it contains important raw material that will meet demand for infrastructure and construction projects in south east Queensland.

“The standard hard rock quarry was approved to operate through local council approximately 20 years ago under a lease to the then Readymix Group and this approval has been kept up-to-date by the landowner.”