The RZ Resources team at their Wentworth headquarters launch last Thursday. Picture: Megan Louise Photography.
Mine adopts public approach, August 2024
RZ Resources has opened up a dedicated premises along Darling Street in Wentworth, as it prepares for the proposed Copi Mine project.
The company is hoping to strengthen community ties, and use the headquarters as a focal point to provide updated information about its mineral sands project.
RZ Resources executive chairman and founder David Fraser said the opening of the Wentworth headquarters highlighted his company’s commitment to the people and places of Wentworth Shire.
“The planned Copi project can transform Wentworth, Broken Hill, and all points in between, and RZ’s Wentworth HQ will enable us to engage directly with locals on a daily basis,” Mr Fraser said.
“Since we first started work to bring the Wentworth HQ to life, our local staff have been encouraged by the increasing number of people wanting to find out more about who we are, and what we have planned for this region.”
RZ Resources had been operating in Wentworth since 2017 when its exploration base was established.
The company’s long-term plan was to establish a mineral sands mine 35km from the Silver City Highway, about 75km north-west of Wentworth, and about 25km from Lake Victoria and the Great Darling Anabranch.
The Copi Mineral Sands Project was listed as one of 52 “investment-ready” mining projects in the Federal Government’s Australian Critical Minerals Prospectus in January this year, and a wet mine would be development-ready, pending approvals, from early next year.
RZ Resources said the mine would be operational for more than 20 years, with the expectation it would lead to the global export of 16 megatonnes of materials including titanium, zirconium and rare earth minerals.
At the launch of the headquarters, RZ Resources chief executive Campbell Jones said the Copi project would deliver substantial benefits to Wentworth, far west NSW, and across the state more broadly.
‘The opening of RZ’s Wentworth HQ cements our ties locally, allowing our Wentworth staff to showcase our plans, provide updates, and host important social and community events,” Mr Jones aid.
‘This is a generational project for Wentworth and its people, and we are backing the community through the establishment of our local HQ in the heart of town.”
According to the company, up to 480 direct jobs would be created during the Copi Mine project’s construction phase, with 240 ongoing positions.
RZ Resources expected it would boost spending in Wentworth by about to $100 million each year across the first 17 years of operations.
The headquarters would be open daily, and can be found at 28 Darling Street, Wentworth.
– Wade Stephens, Sunraysia Daily, August 30 2024
https://www.sunraysiadaily.com.au/news/6308704/mine-adopts-public-approach