Chris Byrne from Legacy Minerals was at the Lunatic Hotel to answer questions from the community about mining exploration in the Drake area.

It was a casual meet and greet. Because there is a community meeting in Drake tomorrow, Monday, July 28 and mining companies are not invited to attend, IndyNR.com wanted to ask Mr Byrne some questions about his company’s exploration of mineral licences.

Legacy Minerals was founded in 2017 and the company has 10 projects across the state.

Drake has a complex mining history, he said.

In 1853, there was gold, silver and copper mining. In 1992, the last operational gold mine at Mt Carrington stopped. Then in 2021, more than 3000 drill holes and several airborne surveys were done.

There are 391 mine shafts, 250 mine tunnels and 2726 trenches and prospecting pits in the Drake area.

Mr Byrne said he understood people’s objections because mining had a negative reputation.

“The negativity comes from the way things were done such as alluvial dredging,” he said. “The way we do things is different.”

Drake has already been heavily mined, Mr Byrne said.

Legacy is there to look for critical minerals such as copper, silver and zinc and see what the viability for mining is.

“Drake is known as a mining town, it is the longest continuously mined district in Australia,” he said.

Mr Byrne’s company and the people that work there are of a younger generation, he said.

“We come from an environmental background.”

There have been some bad examples in the Clarence catchment, he said.

“I’m optimistic we can get the balance right.”

There are 44 licences in Clarence, he said, but only two or three are active,

Legacy Minerals explores the area, collects data and assesses the feasibility for mining.

This pre-mining exploration phase usually takes four to five years. 

Mr Byrne said his company only works in NSW and negotiating with native title holders and indigenous communities is important.

The main difference with Legacy Minerals is that what they do will not impact the Clarence River.

“There is no sediment run-off,” he said.

Instead, the company buys water from the council, sometimes spending up to $35,000 in water cartage.

Drake sits in a state forest and most mineral deposits are also within the state forest, he said.

From a mining point of view this presents fewer issues because of the location.

“There’s a lot of fear and misconception based on how mining was done historically,” Mr Byrne said.

“We can do sustainable mineral extraction and protect the river and environment.”

The critical minerals Legacy is seeking are used in cars, batteries, solar panels, telecommunications, electricity and in many other ways.

Drake is at a juncture, he said.

Legacy wants to drill 40 new drill holes for mineral exploration.

The benefits to Drake, according to Mr Byrne include improvement to roads, employment, the landowner gets money, and workers spending money in the village.

Some people are holding out hope that there will be a future for mining in Drake, he said.

Let’s see what the sentiment is at the community meeting at Drake Community Hall at 1pm–4pm tomorrow, Monday, July 28.

Register for the community meeting here.

This article appeared on indyNR.com on 27 July 2025.