Mining village for Blayney

A joint agreement between the applicant, Mid West Concrete, and Newcrest Mining, the development is the first of its kind in the Central West and will be situated at the rear of the Blayney Tourist Park for a three-year period.

Housing 20 per cent of the staff that will be working on the Cadia East development, the $5.5 million development is similar to other mining villages developed by Newcrest.

General manager of Cadia Projects Leigh Cox says the village will be familiar to mine workers.

“We have similar mining villages in Telfer Western Australia and at Cracow in Queensland,” Mr Cox said.

“In fact a lot of the workers are unfamiliar with living in places like Orange. It’s quite different for them to live in town.”

If approved, the buildings that will house the miners will be delivered to the site in a convoy of trucks and after the three-year development application is over, the buildings will be freighted away again.

It is expected that the village - complete with a dining room, laundry, offices and a recreational area - will be operational by July.

Although the development is for the new Cadia East mine, the development may have a positive effect on the current rental squeeze.

“Because it’s a familiar environment for a lot of the guys they may move out to the site rather than staying in Orange,” he said.

“A lot of them don’t like to cook.”

To keep the workers fed there is a team of professional camp managers that include Spotless Catering.

Buses will ferry the workers to the site alleviating any concerns about an increase in traffic.

More than 60 people attended an information session at the Blayney Tourist Park on Saturday morning with the majority of people looking for any opportunities that the development may bring.

“We are open to any offers for catering and cleaning services,” Mr Cox said.