Mining giant Rex Minerals has announced it will be seeking financing of $850 million dollars to begin construction on its Hillside Copper-Gold Project on the Yorke Peninsula.
The mine is expected to produce 42,000 tonnes of copper and 30,000 ounces of gold each year for the first 11 years of operations.
It will also create 500 jobs during construction and more than 400 jobs when it becomes operational, which is expected to be at the end of 2025.
Rex Minerals CEO Richard Laufmann said there were many parties showing financial interest.
"We've got quite a few local investors on the register, and we have a lot of interest from local suppliers and contractors," Mr Laufmann said.
"We'll also be speaking to local and international banks and with the world moving to electrification, you can't even take the first step without copper.
"Whether you use a coal-powered station or solar, you need copper to transmit the power.
"We're at a changing point in history where we want to clean the planet, reduce the pollution, and electrify, and the first thing you're going to need is copper."
He said the project was about "the future of the planet".
"We're not knocking over native forests and we're not clearing any land that has native species living on it," he said.
Farmer expresses doubt
Pine Point farmer Brenton Davey lives next door to the project and said his farm would be incorporated into the mine if it went to plan.
"They still need to get a waiver of exemption from me so there's still a lot of hurdles they must cross before they can get their project up and running," Mr Davey said.
"It sounds like they're trying to talk up the project, but I think they're a long way off from getting financing.
"I'm starting to get used to the way this company talks about their project and I am becoming more confident that history will repeat itself.
"Numerous people have tried to get the Hillside mine going and I fear that this project will be no different."
Preparations underway
However, Mr Laufmann said the company was preparing the site to become ready for operations, with road diversions, power upgrades and water installations.
"The site is prepped and ready to go for when we start developing," he said.
"At the same time, we're training the people who are going to operate this mine.
"This mine just doesn't bring jobs, it brings diversity [of industry] instead of just farmers in the Yorke Peninsula.
"This will bring in people that will support hospitals, schools, sporting clubs and all the sorts of things that make a region exciting."
