AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

Copper mine to bring more jobs to South Australia

Thursday, 25 October 2007

There is renewed interest in a 1970s era copper mine which promises to bring 600 new jobs to South Australia.

An application has been made by Hillgrove Resources to redevelop the Kanmantoo copper mine, which lies south-east of Adelaide and has been deserted since the 1970s. Extensive testing over the past two years has demonstrated that the old mine could produce a further 290,000 tonnes of copper, as well as over 200,000 ounces of gold.

A mining lease has been lodged by Hillgrove resources to the South Australian Government and the public are also encouraged to comment on the matter. Local communities are also getting behind the idea of the creation of jobs, and there have already been more than 100 recommendations.

According to the South Australian Government, the mining operation will create 600 construction and permanent jobs. Initial spending would involve a cost of $100 million AUD. The Adelaide Hills area will benefit from the economic halo-effect, with hundreds of new highly-paid households in the mining industry.

The mining industry in Australia is a high-income earning sector, with Australia being the world's dominant producer of aluminium, bauxite, chrysoprace, lead, opal and zircon.

The success of Australia's mining industry is one of the factors driving the severe skills shortage and highlighting the need to take on more migrants to fill skilled positions. The ongoing skills shortage could mean that many of the new jobs generated by the Kanmantoo redevelopment may go to highly skilled immigrants to Australia.