Rio Tinto seeks more time to close Kangaroo Hill FIFO work camp
The City of Karratha says it is pleased a fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers' camp in Dampier will close as planned.
Rio Tinto's 500-bed Kangaroo Hill camp was due to close at the end of this year.
However, the city has supported a request by the company for an extra six months to allow for alternative arrangements to be made, and reschedule demolition to outside of the cyclone season.
Mayor Peter Long welcomed the intended closure and said it was in line with the city's vision for a more residential workforce.
"We think it's a great move, it's in accordance with our plan and our desires," he said.
"We would like the accommodation in town to be more permanent, better quality, we don't want to be just a mining town full of construction camps.
"So Rio removing this camp is a good step on the way to achieving our goal."
He said the camp had been in place for 10 years and was starting to look tired.
"These transportable units aren't sort of made for long-term use and I think maintenance on the camp was getting quite high and there wasn't a need for it so they thought it was time to let it go," he said.
The Minister for State Development will have the final say on the request for an extra six months, with a decision expected by the end of the year.
Rio Tinto said the camp was built as a temporary facility to meet demands of its construction phase and at the end of its lifespan the site would be rehabilitated.
The miner said employees being housed at Kangaroo Hill would be accommodated in other FIFO accommodation in the area.