Montis Pit

at a glance Approval: Shale extraction DA 1996/30 Location: 5 Montis Road, Bagotville Last Inspection: 11 March 2021

Montis Pit is located at 5 Montis Road, Bagotville at the intersection of Montis Road and Old Bagotville Road. The quarry was approved on 2 February 1996 under DA 1996/30.  The approval, which was further amended on the 3 August 1996 allows for the continued operation of the site for gravel quarrying with extraction rates capped at 56,000 tonnes per annum and a life span of 27 years. An application to modify the approval and increase the annual extraction amounts from 50,000 to 150,000 tonnes for both Montis Pit and Eaton’s Pit was submitted in May 2010. The application faced several obstacles and was later withdrawn in May 2012.  The original approval for the use of the site continues however lapses in 2023. Outside of the confines of the quarry, a sediment and erosion basin were originally installed in the south-eastern corner of the site to collect and settle run-off from the pit and disturbed surfaces and slopes.  The confines of Montis quarry exhibited a generally flat quarry floor which drained within itself towards the west of the pit floor with any retained water escaping by seepage through the pit floor, natural evaporation or overflow to the sediment basin.

Environmental Constraints

The development and operation of the quarry must generally be undertaken in accordance with the approval that was issued under DA 1996/320, Statement of Environmental Effects, Plan of Management and Noise Study which generally incorporate the operational parameters, quarry development, monitoring and control of pollutants, surface water and progressive rehabilitation of the site. At the time of the approval, the landform was identified as being 30m AHD and it was proposed that the final landform would be approximately 15m AHD with 1:3 batters sloping to the quarry floor.

Rehabilitation Requirements                        

The Statement of Environmental Effects and Plan of Management describe that the pit faces are to be generally restored to slopes equal to or less than the surrounding natural landscapes and to generally consist of less than 1:3 batters. The rehabilitation plan identifies that endemic tree species are to be planted at a rate of 100 trees per hectare. A list of preferred Koala feed trees is provided within the plan of management along with endemic species which arise from soil seed stack are also favoured. The plans and proposed contours have been reviewed by Council and rehabilitation works by the owners are proceeding and near completion. Revegetation works are to commence in 2023 after summer and the site will be monitored for an expected twelve months to ensure stability and that tree plantings and ground cover are progressing satisfactorily. 

Montis Pit drone image facing West, 2023

Northern slope, 2023

Pioneer regrowth, 2023