Re.source

There are more than 200 million tonnes of coal‐ash stored in unlined dams around NSW, and each year roughly six million tonnes are added. This ash contains potentially hazardous material which in large quantities poses serious threats to surrounding waterways. By using a novel combination of established chemical processes and existing equipment from the mining and chemical industries, coal‐ash dams can be emptied and used to manufacture valuable environmentally safe products. This processes hazardous elements into environmentally safe products that have well‐established markets with large growth potential e.g. lithium batteries, greener aluminium or more sustainable construction materials.

This not only tackles a major environmental problem, it also creates jobs for the communities around coal‐fired power stations. This project establishes a for-purpose vehicle that funds community projects  with First Nations people, youth and women, ultimately circling wealth back into these communities. It enables communities to collaboratively articulate their priorities, develop their own local regeneration projects, and secure funding to successfully own these projects.

The project creates high quality jobs in communities around coal‐fired power stations, keeping well‐trained and highly remunerated workers in their communities in comparable jobs. It is also creating a blueprint for how commercial businesses can include the circularity of wealth into their model, by creating a for-purpose funding vehicle for community-led projects that is funded by profits from this project. The project directly addresses a key environmental legacy left by power stations, and empowers communities to be in control of their own regeneration by enabling their capacity to identify, develop and successfully run projects that help them and their environments heal.