Council sells Capella quarry

The Shepton Quarry near Capella in Central Queensland is to be sold to Wagners Quarries.

Central Highlands Regional Council, who owns and operates the quarry, has made the decision to accept a purchase tender from the Toowoomba-based construction giant.

Central Highlands’ CEO Scott Mason said the decision was ‘purely economic’.

‘After independent analysis of the commercial viability of the quarry to council, and a great deal of internal evaluation, the decision was made to sell the entire operation “as is” via tender.

‘A number of factors influenced the decision, among which was a careful consideration of the risk that operating a quarry poses to council these days.

‘The state government has changed the regulations for quarrying, which essentially is classed as a mining operation, and that puts council at a high risk for something that is not really a core council business,’ Mr Mason explained.

‘That, coupled with the difficulty of running a quarry business within the constraints of a local government legislative environment, put council at a disadvantage compared to its commercial competitors.

‘The most sensible decision was to find a suitable buyer and divest itself of a business that had become financially and operationally challenging,’ he said.

‘I recognise the efforts of staff in implementing strategies and practices that enabled the business to be attractive for sale.’

The contract of sale is in the process of being finalised and all quarry personnel will be offered employment within council.