By Angela Smallacombe
Posted Wed 7 Dec 2016 at 7:30amWednesday 7 Dec 2016 at 7:30am, updated Wed 7 Dec 2016 at 8:55am
The historical significance of coal mining equipment at the Leigh Creek mine is worth more to tourism than what it has been sold for as scrap, according to a community group who want the sale reversed.
The Leigh Creek coal mine was closed by Alinta Energy in November 2015, ahead of the closure of the Port Augusta Power Station that used the coal until it ceased operation in May this year.
Assets were sold at auction at both sites by Mason Gray Strange on behalf of Flinders Power, but the sale of a decommissioned dragline at the Leigh Creek lookout, for what was described as “meagre few thousand dollars”, has caused the most concern.
Nigel Carney lives at the nearby town of Copley and spoke for Friends of the Flinders Communities.
He said the lookout was a very important attraction and tourism at the site provided an insight into the Playford era of coal that aided the development of South Australia.
“It’s famous. The 9W dragline is an incredible piece of equipment made in Wisconsin, an electric vehicle that literally walks,” he said.
“It has a hydraulic walking system so that it can move from location to location.
“And also, the equipment there is a tribute to all the people who worked at the mine and part of the history of the region.
“The relevance of the site is that it overlooks one of the original pits, so it’s a spectacular place where people can go and look at the scale of a coal mine and look at old equipment.”
The dragline was sold at auction on November 8 along with hundreds of other items from the coal mine and it is believed a scrap company is yet to remove it from the site.
Call to have sale reversed
The community group has written to the State Government to have the decision to sell the dragline reversed.
“What we’re saying is that this very important site has been overlooked,” Mr Carney said.
“We need to reverse the sale of it for scrap to ensure that it remains there for future generations and current economy of the region, which is in decline because of the closure of the mine.”
The State Government has been working with the Leigh Creek community to look at options for the town since the coal mine closure, with tourism being a one of the focuses of a report released earlier this year.
“When we have visitors here or tourists are up here, the first thing they ask for is a tour of the mine site,” Mr Carney said.
However, there have been issues with tourists climbing on the draglines at the lookout, which caused the site to be closed for some time.
The group acknowledged that management of the site needed to be addressed if it was to be used as a tourist attraction, but they believed there was opportunity for it to become a community-run initiative.
“The potential is there to turn a declining situation into a situation of prosperity if we use a little bit of common sense and celebrate these artefacts that are up there and make the site safe,” Mr Carney said.
Mason Gray Strange has confirmed the dragline has been sold but could not give any further details.
Risk to public safety a major focus of government
“One of the key risks associated with the closure of the Leigh Creek Coalfields is future unauthorised access to the site, including unauthorised access to any remaining disused plant,” Brad Williams, program manager with Flinders Power, said in a statement.
“This is a key public safety risk that can only be managed through the removal of these items of disused plant.
“The items in question were sold at auction for minimal value and were otherwise always going to be removed from site to ensure public safety.
“Management of risks to public safety has been a major focus for both Flinders and the South Australian Government throughout the risk-based process to develop the Mine Closure Plan.
“It is also noted that visitor access to the location where the items are currently situated has been restricted from public access for two years due to public safety concerns.”
A spokesperson for the Department of State Development said Flinders Power was responsible for the closure of the mine at Leigh Creek, including decisions regarding the removal of surplus equipment.
The spokesperson said the State Government had asked Flinders Power to liaise with concerned residents.
Posted 7 Dec 2016 7 Dec 2016, updated 7 Dec 2016
