Gunlake Quarry on Brayton Rd is applying to the State Government to increase its production from 750,000 tonnes to two million tonnes per annum.

The $3.25 million project will triple the quarry pit footprint to 63 hectares and employ 23 extra people.

But it will also mean 276 more truck movements along the Brayton Rd haul route daily, up from the current 164, and 24-hour crushing. Locals worried about ‘conflict’ with the school bus and overall safety are already asking whether “we’ve all gone mad.”

Gunlake’s application comes just three months after state government approval of an increase in production to 750,000 tonnes, 250,000 tonnes more than its 2008 consent.

Managing director of Gunlake Pty Ltd Ed O’Neil said the April increase was a nine-month project and since then, the company had identified more demand in Sydney and regional markets.

“There is an unprecedented amount of infrastructure work being carried out in Sydney by the state and federal governments,” he said.

“We have been monitoring work at our Sydney concrete plants and the demand in the last six months is definitely there.”

Sydney currently uses almost 20 million tonnes of aggregates annually, according to the company.

Gunlake Quarry, 7km northwest of Marulan, has been operating for five years. It produces concrete, sealing aggregates, rail ballast, manufactured sand and road base and operates three concrete plants in Sydney.

Like other quarries in the Marulan district, it taps into a rich igneous rock deposit, in this case stretching over 100 metres below the surface. The company estimated it has only quarried 0.9 million tonnes of the expected 180 million tonne resource.

“There is every chance we could apply to go beyond our 30- year approval,” Mr O’Neil said.

“(Holcim’s) Lynwood and (Boral’s) Peppertree Quarries all have large resources to supply Sydney and region well into the future. 

“There’s no reason we wouldn’t go beyond the 30 years, especially given that Sydney suppliers like Penrith Lakes are closing down.”  

The quarry already employs 25 fulltime people and up to 38 truck drivers but expects to enlist 27 more with the expansion. Mr O’Neil said 95 per cent of workers came from the local area.

Each month the operation generates $400,000 in wages and local business, a figure expected to grow to $600,000 to $700,000. 

“We’re not cyclical like mining,” Mr O’Neil said.

“We’re here for the long haul and not affected so much by international markets.”

Gunlake has just received director general’s requirements for the application.

Next Thursday it will host a community meeting at Marulan Church Hall from 5pm-7pm to hear any concerns.

The impact on Brayton Rd and residents’ safety is a prime one. In a response to the Department of Planning, Council is already calling on the company to “carefully consider the feasibility of rail transport” given the quarry’s long life. 

It also wants road improvements, an 80km/h speed limit along the haul route and will enforce section 94 contributions. In her letter, planning director Louise Wakefield hinted at higher contributions, given the section 94 plan was under review.

But Mr O’Neil said the company had explored rail transport and found it wasn’t feasible.  

“There is no access to rail for Gunlake,” he said.

“Even so, concrete plants have an effective radius of about 15km to their supply market. That means a lot of product needs to be redistributed throughout Sydney when it is railed to a distribution hub. This creates more condensed congestion in Sydney which is already struggling.”

Moreover, he said Gunlake was paying $18.54m in section 94 levies over 34 years, with inflation.

With road rebuilding costing Council $11.2m, he argued this left more than $7m to be spent elsewhere in the local government area.

“We just gave $550,000 towards Brayton Road’s upgrade and prior to that we spent $1.5m on a bypass road (over to Red Hills Rd and the Hume Highway),” Mr O’Neil said.

On the question of a community enhancement fund, he told the Post that Gunlake, was open to talking to Council about a Veolia Mulwaree Trust style set up in which all quarries participated.

The company is also working with the Marulan and District Chamber of Commerce about apprenticeship programs and education programs in schools.

Meantime, Mr O’Neil is encouraging the community to provide feedback about the expansion at Thursday’s meeting.

He pledged that any concerns would be addressed.

“We’re excited about this and looking forward to working with the community,” Mr O’Neil said.