Tondara Rd upgrade falls through after Navarre Gold Mine in Mount Carlton closes

A long-awaited project to seal a portion of road to limit dust coming from trucks at a Bowen Basin mine has fallen through now that the mine has closed down. DETAILS

A long-awaited project to seal a portion of road to limit dust coming from trucks at a Bowen Basin mine has fell through now that the mine has closed down. Picture: Kirra Grimes/ Contributed

A long-awaited project to seal a portion of road to limit dust coming from trucks at a Bowen Basin mine has fallen through now that the mine has closed down, but residents are still trying to get a portion of road sealed right in front of their house.

Whitsunday Regional Council has discussed sealing a portion of Tondara Rd in Mount Carlton, which is the main access to the nearby Navarre Gold Mine.

Residents have complained for years of the dust coming from the trucks going in and out of the mine and a $4.5m seal upgrade to the road had been under discussion with the mine’s previous owner, Evolution, with an agreement of 70-30 investment from the mine and council, respectively.

Navarre entered voluntary administration in June 2023, closing down operations, and the appointed administrators informed council that they could “no longer financially contribute to the road”.

The Mount Carlton gold mine went into administration in June 2023 and is still waiting to find new buyers. Picture: Contributed

At the most recent council meeting, councillor Michelle Wright raised the request from residents of Glenroc Station, which is located more than 450m from Tondara Rd, to upgrade the part of the road nearest to their house, which represents only a 150m stretch, to limit impact from the dust on their property.

Ms Wright told council that upgrading that road had been in the budget for a number of years, and asked that an amendment be made to upgrade that small portion of road in front of the station.

“If we take a bit more time, that’s fine. If it takes another six months, it’s OK. I just don’t want the whole budget to go away,” she said.

Whitsunday Regional councillor Michelle Wright says council should still upgrade a small portion of road near a gold mine to limit dust impacting residents. Picture: Kirra Grimes

Council documents indicated that the main reason for the use of the road was the mine, with traffic expected to decrease now that it has closed down.

But Ms Wright said it was “one of the busiest roads” in the region, that mine trucks would use a lot, but cattle trucks and other vehicles would also pass by.

“Sealing of small sections of roads is not considered a safe option as the road user can be drawn into a false sense of security,” the council documents stated.

Ms Wright asked council how much the upgrade for the 150m stretch would cost, to which acting director Michael Downing responded it was estimated at $100,000-$150,000, adding that they would need to bring a crew in specifically for the job.

Councillors Clay Bauman and Gary Simpson both said it was not possible to acquiesce to the requests of all the people who would want their road sealed.

“There are hundreds of people who want less dust,” Mr Simpson said.

“If you seal 100m, it’s not going to change much.”

Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Julie Hall said she wanted to see “real figures” in terms of costs for sealing that small stretch of road and asked for the matter to be reconsidered at the next ordinary meeting.

Councillors voted in majority for reconsidering the case next year.