Shire aims to boost income from miners

The Shire of East Pilbara hopes to net more than $600,000 in additional annual rates income after applying in December to the State Government to alter the rating status of four mining camps.

The Shire's councillors voted to seek to apply the changes to camps owned by BHP Billiton, Newcrest, Altura Exploration and Atlas, and Process Minerals International.

In the case of the BHP Billiton-owned Warrawandu Village at Jimblebar, it could lead to the miner paying the Shire a tenfold increase in annual rates income with its bill, bringing its payment to an estimated $325,000, up from $30,000.

Shire of East Pilbara chief executive Allen Cooper said the Shire still needed to complete the valuation process and to inform the companies about the potential financial implications.

"Based on current-day valuations and rates in the dollar this is what we hope to raise from the camps," he said.

The December changes are part of a broader push by the Shire to charge all mining camps in its municipality normalised rates on their operations.

The move is possible under a State Government trial policy, which since 2012, has allowed Pilbara local governments to value mining camps according to their gross rental value rather than their unimproved land value.

As with BHP Billiton's village at Jimblebar, this has led to current estimates of a potentially large jump in the valuation of Newcrest's Telfer Mine accommodation and an approximate rates bill of $370,000, up from $13,900.

At Altura Exploration and Atlas' Mt Webber operations and Process Minerals International's camp at Phil's Creek, the approximate increases in their rates payments would be smaller, with estim- ated jumps of just over $10,000.

Mr Cooper said the trial policy had enabled his Shire to boost its coffers greatly.

"Certainly with the proliferation … not only in number but the size of (new mining camps within the Shire of East Pilbara), there has been an increase in revenue as well," he said.

"It is mainly the large camps we are going through and trying to rate (at the moment), but we have been doing the process for a number of years now."