A STUDY commissioned by Cadia Valley Operations shows the regional economy would lose $1.5 billion if the mine was to close, but the company is looking decades ahead to ensure that is not the case.
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The study, completed by the Western Research Institute, measured the economic and social impacts of Cadia Valley Operations.
It revealed regional output benefits of up to $1.5 billion for the central west over the 2012-13 financial year.
Cadia general manager Tony McPaul said the company commissioned the report in order to prepare for the eventual closure, “a long, long way down the track”.
He said the comprehensive study enabled the company to reassess its community relations program and target where best to invest in the economy in order to minimise the impact of the closure.
“We need to make sure we are putting these resources and funds where they’ll make the biggest benefit,” Mr McPaul said.
For example, the company will invest further into the health sector because it was identified as an area where jobs could be created, to cover those that would be lost with the mine’s closure.
The economic study revealed that more than 300 businesses in NSW benefitted from payments for goods and services supplied to CVO during 2012-13, with the majority from the central west.
It showed 2428 full-time-equivalent jobs were created as a direct result of the mine, which represented 6.5 per cent of the jobs in the Cabonne, Blayney, Bathurst, Cowra and Orange regions.
Mr McPaul said there were no surprises in the report, but he was particularly pleased that it reflected what the company had proposed would happen when it applied for the approval of the Cadia east project.
“The results were better than the predicted impact of the approval,” he said.
Western Research Institute chief executive officer Danielle Ranshaw said the report revealed the real benefits Cadia brought to the region.
“This study quantifies a widely held understanding of CVO being a major contributor to the central west economy in terms of the Gross Regional Product and the number of jobs it creates,” she said.
Ms Ranshaw said the study found 90 per cent of employees lived in the region.