JOINT VENTURE PAVES SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

A new Australian porphyry stone quarry is delivering more than royalties for traditional owners in far north Queensland.

LOCATED near Dimbulah, one and half hours inland from Cairns, Featherstone Quarries development has come about as a result of an innovative joint venture arrangement.

Traditional owner, lease holder and Bar Barrum Indigenous elder Tom Congoo, was well aware of the value and potential of the high quality porphyry stone in the site in the Atherton Tablelands but did not have the expertise to extract and market the resource.

After contacting Keith Davies of Jarby’s Logistics, a local indigenous training and mentoring business, it wasn’t long before contact was made with Andrea Tomaselli of Melbourne based stone merchant and stonemasons Italian Porphyry.

With a long history of involvement in the stone industry in both Italy and Australia and notable architectural landscaping work such as the Lygon Street piazza, Andrea and colleague, John Cook, quickly recognised the opportunity.

After a year of various site visits and negotiations a joint venture company was formed between the groups to ensure the exciting new paving and landscaping product made it to market and that the traditional owners would benefit.

“They came to us for some information and advice about production and logistics and marketing of Australian porphyry and after a few visits to the site we could see the potential,” Mr Tomaselli said.

“It is a great opportunity for indigenous people to not only quarry the stone and share in the income but also because it means employment and training,” he said.

“It’s much more meaningful and more constructive for the traditional owners to be involved in a joint venture and be involved in extraction and the processing and the logistics than it is to simply accept money from royalties.

“We’re very excited about the opportunities this porphyry presents and we’re looking forward to the unique opportunity this joint venture brings in marketing the stone,” Mr Tomaselli said.

Available in various shades from earthy ochre and reds to green blue hues, the local stone is predicted to make an impact in the market as production volumes increase.

“There’s already a lot of interest locally and in places like Townsville for civic projects and we will be marketing this stone as widely as we can as we go,” Mr Tomaselli said.

“People looking to use stone in paving and landscaping look at a lot of different aspects including colour and texture in what is oft en a very personal choice. The Featherstone porphyry will give them another option, and importantly, an Australian option,” he said.

The joint venture is already paying dividends for Tom Congoo, his family and young local indigenous people. “Our joint venture is currently providing on-site training for 15 local indigenous employees and is supported by the Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE,” Mr Tomaselli said.

Additionally to the direct employment and skills training, Featherstone Quarries also delivers an economic benefit to the local economy through the purchase of services and supplies, but it is the intangibles that really deliver according to Mr Tomaselli.

“The workers end up with skills they didn’t have before in using loaders and guillotines and saws in the extraction and in managing logistics and service,” Mr Tomaselli said. “The venture delivers great dignity to people – money is one thing but that’s not as powerful as meaningful employment.”

“We don’t need Government entitlements,” Tom Congoo said. “It is important that our people have pride in their work and earn their living from their land.”

Mr Tomaselli said quarry operations began in early July and expected that Featherstone Quarries porphyry will be available throughout Australia in increasing volumes over coming months.

Porphyry is a high glass (silica) content volcanic stone structured in parallel slabs and is highly regarded as a non slip oil resistant paving product for exterior use. Mr Tomaselli said it is harder wearing than bluestone or granite and has been used for centuries for walling, paving and roads in cobblestone and mosaic tiles.

For further information contact Andrea Tomaselli from Italian Porphyry on Phone: 03 5964 7778.

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