After announcing production capacity is set to double, Pittong kaolin mine owners Suvo Strategic Minerals are already looking to the future.
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The Pittong mine, between Skipton and Linton, has been extracting the clay-like substance kaolin for 50 years.
The mine's current owners, Suvo, completed a massive expansion earlier this year, and final testing has proved production can double from about 25,000 tonnes per annum to more than 50,000 tonnes.
That's great news for the company, and for the community, according to Suvo's executive chairman Henk Ludik.
Speaking to The Courier, Mr Ludik said as well as output, jobs are expected to double as well, cementing the business in the area.
"We'll increase from 25 or so roles to approximately 45 in the near-term," he said.
"During this optimisation process, we unlocked a couple of additional opportunities, which could help us to generate additional revenue while creating additional jobs, such as washing off tailings facilities, and opportunities to build more on-site, allowing us to refine our products.
"That means more jobs - we are serious about creating a long-term, sustainable relationship with the community, this company's been part of the community for 50 years and we have multiple generations working on-site."
The mine is the only one in Australia that produces hydrous kaolin, a high-grade material that can be used in porcelain, paint, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.
It currently only exports about 30 per cent of its product, and Mr Ludik said discussions are under way to find more Australian-based customers.
"It's always a fine balance, what you commit, when you commit in terms of timing to market, and a lot of those discussions with large multinationals are progressing," he said.
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"There are recent regional expansions to paint producers, and we're certainly entertaining discussions with those groups as well.
"It ensures not only do we support the local community from an individual perspective, but also other local businesses, to help them reduce their overall costs of operations - by potentially cutting out that middleman, and cutting the supply chain much shorter, it becomes a viable, almost symbiotic relationship between the parties."
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