Many Port Kembla residents will throw a party at news that the 198 metre smelter stack is to be demolished. There was fear that as long as the stack remained there was always the possibility that the state government could have a change of heart - and approve a new copper smelting industry in the suburb.
Copper production at Port Kembla commenced in 1908 when Port Kembla was a small village. The suburb grew around the smelter and in recent decades the outpouring of noxious gases made residents lives a misery - and forced the relocation of the school.
Time after time new owners promised that technology would overcome the problems - but it didn't - and eventually the plant closed.
Sometime next year photography buffs will have a chance to capture interesting shots. The stack will be prepared with explosive charges which will cause it to make a spectacular fall along a chosen site - and that will not be done cheaply.
It will take thirty workers sixteen months to prepare the stack for demolition - and it's end will cost a whopping eight million dollars.
And residents will give a huge sigh of relief when it happens !
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