Ballarat Gold Mine in administration: industry, union hope mine can stay open, support local jobs

The Ballarat Gold Mine's Australian operators Balmain Gold Pty Ltd went into administration on Thursday, leaving some 200 workers worrying they could soon be out of a job, and others concerned about flow-on effects for the local economy.

Neither the company nor appointed administrators Hall Chadwick would comment on the situation on Friday, leaving workers and the wider community largely in the dark as to the mine's future.

It's been a "stressful, scary" couple of days for the workers and their families, and two Australian Workers' Union representatives have attended the Mount Clear mine site to discuss the way forward.

A source who wanted to remain anonymous told The Courier workers had seen cash flow issues at the site for at least six months, with messaging from management not matching the reality on the ground.

"The big boss just keeps saying, 'Everything will be fine,' then the boys would turn up to work and there'd be no diesel... so one day they had no equipment or anything because there was no petrol," the source said.

There had been some discussions among the workers on Thursday and Friday about refusing to work until wages and entitlements were guaranteed, the source said, however AWU organiser Ross Kenna said there were no official plans for industrial action.

"As far as we're aware, everything will continue as normal - they'll continue to mine and process the gold," Mr Kenna said.

"There was an issue yesterday - the administrators froze the accounts just before payroll should have gone in, so the workforce has been assured that they'll be paid over this weekend.

"We'll be working with our members to ensure that they get all their entitlements, that no matter which way this goes that they are protected and we'll do everything we can to ensure that they get everything they're owed."

Industry figures and community advocates say the mine's closure would be devastating for the city from an economic standpoint.

Minerals Council of Australia's Victorian Executive Director James Sorahan said the Ballarat mine, in combination with mines at Stawell and Bendigo, provided $245 million a year in economic benefit to Western Victoria, employed about 450 full-time workers, and made $90 million in purchases of goods and services from 445 local businesses.

"The Ballarat mine spends tens of millions of dollars a year just to stay open, and there are very few businesses that spend that kind of money to remain open," Mr Sorahan said.

"A lot of the local mining engineering technology and service businesses too are supported through local mining - it's often mines like Ballarat that give really innovative, small businesses their start and they then go on to take on the world.

"So the ecosystem of mining spending is a really important thing to defend."

One affected local business is Gekko Systems, which employs 25 staff at its mine site assay laboratory, not only supporting Ballarat Gold Mine's operations but also other mining operations across Victoria and southern New South Wales.

Gekko Chief Executive Andrew Edmondston said the company's Ballarat base had been critical to its development.

"It's been really a reference point for a lot of our customers that we could use to grow our business and showcase our technology," Mr Edmonston said.

"It's given us an opportunity to upskill our mineral processing specialists and supported our ability to export our locally manufactured technology all over the world.

"So we're certainly very keen to see the operation continue trading if possible."

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Committee for Ballarat Chief Executive and Ballarat Gold Mine environmental reference committee chair Michael Poulton echoed those sentiments, saying: "It's really important we do everything we possibly can with the administrators to find their way through their management challenges right now".

"We really want to encourage the parties to work together to assure the future of the mine," Mr Poulton said.

"We think it's a terrific business for Ballarat: it brings high-paid, high-skilled, really good jobs to the city, and In terms of the innovation, [it has brought] new technologies that have really enhanced the mining industry generally.

"We've got to get the right management and leadership in place to try and maintain their presence here if we possibly can.

"It's a value-adding industry, it's not just mining for mining's sake, they're value adding to that and making products that's can really be marketed on the world stage."

Staff onsite on Friday declined to comment on the situation, which comes after recent community opposition to the mine's waste-facility expansion plans.

But multiple sources have reported suppliers refusing to work at the Mount Clear site in recent months due to pay disputes.

Equipment including portable toilets and a cherry picker was observed being carted off-site on Friday morning.

The revenue issues are believed to be caused by difficulties processing ore at the site.

The company has applied to the City of Ballarat Council to develop a new tailings storage facility to increase capacity, but has faced community backlash around potential environmental and health impacts.

The council on Friday confirmed the planning application for the new tailings facility remains active and a required Health Impact Assessment was yet to be submitted.

Development and Growth Director Natalie Robertson said the council had not been contacted by any parties connected to the Ballarat Gold Mine since it entered administration.

AWU members at the mine are already in discussions with Eureka MP Michaela Settle and hope to meet with Energy and Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio next week.

Mr Kenna said early meetings with the administrators suggested the mine could "trade its way out" of trouble.

"We're hopeful there can be a solution and a way out of this, not only with the tailings dam but with the financial trouble that the mine owner's in," Mr Kenna said.

"There's some suggestion that there's some money in the pipeline about capital investment in the place, so were hopeful that'll come through too."

Ballarat Gold Mine and Hall Chadwick were contacted for comment.