Plans for city to be mine hub

By John Van Klaveren
GEELONG could share in Australia’s mining boom if a parliamentary committee report is adopted.
The report said Geelong’s port would play a key role in State Government’s push to join the multi-billion-dollar boom.
Rail haulage to a key port like Geelong was crucial to Victoria’s bid because the majority of the state’s mineral resources were in regional areas, the report said.
The report recommended that State Government identify infrastructure to support mining exploration, including transport links.
Mantle Mining, exploring for brown coal near Bacchus Marsh, told the committee rail haulage to Geelong gave the project a competitive advantage.
The WA-based company announced last month it had found a wider-than-expected coal seam at Parwan, near Bacchus Marsh.
Mantle Mining said it set an exploration target of up to two billion tonnes of coal for the area.
The company aims to export the majority of its coal after processing for enhanced greenhouse efficiency.
Mantle Mining chief Ian Kraemer told the committee the close access to rail and ship-loading facilities at Port of Geelong was crucial.
“(This) leads to an easier commercial outcome to get upgraded coal to market because it has rail (and) the Port of Geelong with capacity,” he said.
Clean coal technology company Exergen told the committee the value of access to rail infrastructure and port links led to its involvement in the industry.
Exergen head Dr Jack Hamilton said the Melbourne-to-Ballarat railway line ran over the mining tenement, offering access to Geelong’s port.
The report on greenfields mineral exploration and project development in Victoria said the sector dropped 40 per cent from $9.8 billion in 1990 to $5.9 billion in 2010.