Dozens of jobs and millions of dollars could soon flow into the Tumut economy, as exploratory drilling begins on the formerly abandoned Adelong Goldfield.
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3D Resources' managing director Peter Mitchell said their early analysis suggested that Adelong was sitting on around $500 million worth of untapped gold, most of which would flow into the local economy.
"Generally for this sort of project maybe 60 per cent ends up in the local community, because it mostly goes towards employment," Mr Mitchell said.
Adelong farmer and Snowy Valleys mayor James Hayes said it would provide a much-needed boost to the fire-ravaged region, provided the project got off the ground.
Councillor Hayes said the region had been repeatedly let down in the past, with several companies making failed attempts at launching their own gold-digging projects.
"We've had lots of people come and go and make lots of promises, but we're hoping the new owners will be good corporate citizens who will integrate themselves in the community," Cr Hayes said.
"We're looking positively towards it, but we know it's a mining venture and these are high-risk and prone to volatility in gold prices and share prices."
He said one particularly bad experience was when a previous company went into liquidation and left the town with a lot of unpaid debts.
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Mr Mitchell, however, said he was "very" confident the project would be a success, saying they would not repeat the mistakes of their predecessors.
"There's nothing wrong with the project: the deposit is good, the place is good, the infrastructure is good," Mr Mitchell said.
"It's a good project, it just hasn't been planned properly [in the past]."
The first stage of exploratory drilling began on Monday, and the company will officially decide whether to continue once the first 1000 metres are cleared and the early modelling is finalised.