Benambra Stockman mine: Aeries Resources takes over zinc and copper mine

A mine in Victoria’s high country that closed suddenly in the 1990s and left taxpayers with a huge clean up bill is on the verge of reopening.

Benambra residents are cautiously optimistic about the high country town being on the brink of another mining boom.

Queensland-based Aeris Resources this month acquired Round Oak Minerals, a company that had been working to reopen the Stockman zinc and copper mine east of Benambra.

The Stockman mine left Victorian taxpayers with a $7 million clean-up bill when it was placed into administration in 1996. It had been operated by Denehurst Ltd., which defaulted on its environmental rehabilitation obligations.

Aeris has mines in Western Australia, Queensland and NSW with the Benambra mine described as “an exciting long-life project with all primary approvals granted and a definitive feasibility study well underway”.

A “final investment decision” is expected mid-next year and construction to start in 2024.

The Weekly Times attempted to contact Aeris Resources for comment.

Doug Tomkins owned the Benambra Hotel when the mine last operated and said its reopening “would be great for the town”, which has less than 200 residents.

“They’ve got all their permits and everything and it’s just a matter of making a decision,” he said.

“If it was in Western Australia it would have been up and going 20 years ago.

“It would bring a hell of a lot of money into the area as it did previously.

“We had a lot of the sub contractors working at the mine who used to stay at the pub.”

East Gippsland Shire confirmed it had leased Benambra Primary School land to the mine owners on an initial nine-year term with two five-year options.

The school shut in the early 2000s with buildings still able to be used by community groups including Benambra Neighbourhood House.

A 200-plus room accommodation village has been proposed near the mine site.

Benambra resident and East Gippsland Shire councillor Sonia Buckley.

East Gippsland Shire councillor Sonia Buckley lives at Benambra and said there were positives and negatives with the mine reopening.

“We understand the benefit and importance of such a proposal going ahead, but there are people in the community, farmers, who are concerned about water supply and health of the rivers,” she said.

“It’s quite an affluent mine, but the unfortunate part of that is how much do we see locally?

“We also incur some of the issues of more trucks on a road that isn’t in good condition now.

“I support extractive industries, but not at the expense of agriculture which I will support every time.

“Country people are very accommodating, but we all wait and see.”