The strategic importance of a gold mine offering the chance to play a role in a future powered by critical minerals has prompted calls for its operator and the federal government to find a way forward.
The future of the McPhillamys Gold Project in central west NSW was thrown into doubt on Monday after its owner said it had been rendered unviable by a federal protection order.
ASX-listed Regis Resources said Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek's decision on Friday to protect Indigenous heritage at the site would stop the open-cut gold mine going ahead.
The NSW Independent Planning Commission in March last year approved the company's mining application despite opposition from some in the local Aboriginal community.
Regis chief executive Jim Beyer said the company was "extremely surprised and disappointed" that, after nearly four years of assessment, Ms Plibersek had decided to effectively block the development.
"(This) declaration shatters any confidence that development proponents Australia-wide can have in project approval timelines and outcomes," he said in a statement.
The minister's Indigenous-heritage protection declaration covers part of the Belubula River, which falls within the footprint for a proposed storage facility for cast-off material.
Regis has argued there are no other viable options for the facility and developing alternatives would require it to restart the lengthy assessments process.
"This decision does impact a critical area of the project development site and means the project is not viable," it said.
NSW Natural Resources Minister Courtney Houssos said the mine was strategically important to the state, which would urgently reinforce to the federal government the need for investing in critical minerals.
"Protecting heritage and progressing key mining projects should not be a zero-sum proposition," she said in a statement.
"The mine has the potential to support hundreds of jobs in regional communities and contribute millions in royalty payments."
The project had been approved by the state, and Regis and Ms Plibersek should work to find a way forward for it, she said.
Ms Plibersek's office was contacted for comment on the declaration over the mine, which is reportedly costed at $1 billion.
Under the Regis proposal, an 11-year open cut operation would be set up in the Blayney-Kings Plains district, near Bathurst, promising almost 1000 jobs in the region.
The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, an industry lobby group, said the government protection order "lacks reason and commonsense".
"(It) sets a truly terrible precedent for investment risk in Australia," association chief executive Warren Pearce said in a statement.
Regis shares were halted as the minister delivered the decision on Friday, closing down more than two per cent after resuming trade on Monday.
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