MYSTERY surrounds the sale of a mine in Hillgrove to a company headed by a former student at the University of New England.
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Bracken Resources chief executive Roger Jackson studied geology and financial management at UNE in the 1980s and ’90s.
His company has just secured the rights ot the mine from current owner Straits, which stopped production at Hillgrove in 2009.
Bracken Resources has paid $3 million as part payment for the mine and now has 120 days to pay the outstanding $27 million. It must also pay $3.9 million in environmental options.
Plans for the mine have yet to be unveiled by the Bracken Resources.
Calls to Mr Jackson went unanswered yesterday, while there was little public information about the company.
Armidale Dumaresq Council said it was keeping a close eye on the sale’s proceedings.
“Straits have said that Bracken Resources have made its last options payment, which frees up the sale of the mine,” economic development project manager Harold Ritch said.
“They wouldn't have paid that money if the sale wasn’t going through.”
Mr Ritch said council had also tried to contact Mr Jackson, with little success.
Straits extracted antimony, used for hardening metal, from the Hillgrove mine.
Antimony has risen rapidly in value after a crackdown on the mines in China.
The Express understands Mr Jackson is also the chief executive of JKO Mining and Ark Mines.
Hillgrove residents have voiced concern about the pending sale, worried the mine would “re-open before closing again in a few years”.
The Hillgrove mine has changed hands “numerous times” in the past 20 years.
Ros Waters, who has lived in Hillgrove since 1968, said reopening the mine wouldn’t be great news for the village.
“For Armidale, I think it will be a very good thing,” she said.
“For Hillgrove it makes little difference apart from more noise and more cars on the road.”
