JOE LORD CORE LIBRARY —
KALGOORLIE
1158. Hon ROBIN SCOTT to the minister representing the
Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
(1) Will the
minister confirm that in 2016 the Department of Mines and Petroleum engaged consultants
Gresley Abas to prepare a feasibility report on the expansion of the Joe Lord
Core Library, the Kalgoorlie drill core library, and will the minister table
that report?
(2) Will the
minister confirm that at the present rate of collection, by November 2019 there
will be no room for additional core in the Kalgoorlie drill core library and
that space is being made by shifting to Perth quantities of core that
originated in the Kimberley and Pilbara regions, which are presently in the
Kalgoorlie core library catchment area?
(3) Will the
minister give an assurance that there will never be any removal from the
Kalgoorlie drill core library of core originating in the goldfields region?
(4) When will the
government approve the urgently needed expansion of the Kalgoorlie drill core
library?
Hon DARREN
WEST replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. On behalf of the Minister for Regional Development
representing the Minister for Mines and Petroleum, I provide the following
answer.
(1) Yes, Gresley
Abas did prepare a feasibility report on the expansion of the Joe Lord Core
Library in Kalgoorlie. The report was not released because of the ongoing
planning of the core library operations.
(2) Due to the
current high level of drilling activity, the current estimate is November 2019.
To provide additional storage space, moving Kimberley and Pilbara core to Perth
is being considered.
(3) Current policy is that all
goldfields region core will remain at Kalgoorlie.
(4) Decisions
regarding investments in infrastructure will be made through the standard
budgetary processes.