Wagners’ Gunalda Hard Rock Quarry has entered a new Commonwealth environmental referral stage near the Bruce Highway north of Gympie.
The Australian Government’s EPBC Act Public Portal listed the Gunalda Hard Rock Quarry at 121 Hermans Road, Scotchy Pocket, on 24 September 2026, with Wagners Quarries Pty Ltd identified as the proponent and the referral decision open for public comment.
The fresh federal step brings renewed attention to a quarry site that Wagners has held in its development pipeline for many years. Historic company disclosures described Gunalda as an approved, long-life aggregate source positioned to serve road building, concrete, civil construction and regional council markets across South East Queensland.
For contractors and suppliers, the immediate signal is regulatory rather than construction procurement. The current EPBC listing does not confirm a Commonwealth project approval, construction start, plant order, production rate or open tender package. Those later commercial steps depend on the federal assessment outcome and Wagners’ own delivery decisions.
The fresh development is a Commonwealth referral stage
The EPBC Act Public Portal now lists the Gunalda Hard Rock Quarry under referral number 2026/10642. The project is identified as a mining action at 121 Hermans Road, Scotchy Pocket, Queensland, with Wagners Quarries Pty Ltd named as the proponent. The portal status published on 24 September is “Referral Decision – Open for Public Comment”.
That status is important but limited. A referral under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is used to determine how a proposed action should be treated under Commonwealth environmental law, including whether it is a controlled action and what assessment pathway may apply. Public comment at this stage is part of the decision process; it is not itself federal approval for the quarry to proceed.
BBI has therefore separated today’s confirmed fact from older project context. The confirmed 2026 event is the federal referral stage. The quarry’s historic local approvals, useful-life estimate and market positioning help explain why the project matters commercially, but they do not prove current construction timing or procurement activity.
Gunalda has been part of Wagners’ quarry strategy for more than a decade
The Gunalda site is not a newly conceived project. Gympie Regional Council approved a major quarry near Gunalda in 2014, with contemporary reporting describing the project as a source of rock and gravel for road and rail works and indicating around 30 local jobs.
Wagners’ 2017 prospectus subsequently identified Gunalda as one of three quarry sites in its South East Queensland portfolio. At that time, the company described the quarry as “under development”, said it had operational approval and a strong pipeline of major projects, and assigned an estimated useful life of more than 200 years based on then-current and expected medium-term production assumptions.
Wagners’ 2018 annual report again described Gunalda as approved and ready for development. The report placed the project within a broader quarry growth strategy serving concrete aggregates, crusher dust, sealing aggregates, pavement material, asphalt aggregates, construction fills, roadbase, railway ballast and other crushed-rock markets.
In 2020, a Wagners spokesperson told industry media that the Hermans Road site contained enough high-quality rock to last more than a century, could support around 25 to 30 jobs and was well positioned because of its secluded setting and direct access to the Bruce Highway. The stated target market was the Gympie region and surrounding areas.
Those historical disclosures should not be read as a current reserve statement or current production forecast. They are useful because they establish the intended commercial role of Gunalda: a large, long-life regional aggregate source integrated with Wagners’ concrete, transport and project-services businesses.
The commercial case centres on regional construction-material supply
Aggregate production sits upstream of multiple civil and infrastructure markets
Wagners’ historic quarry disclosures show the breadth of products the business has supplied from its quarry network: concrete aggregates, crusher dust, sealing aggregates, pavement material, asphalt aggregate, construction fill, roadbase, railway ballast and other fine crushed rock.
If Gunalda advances through the remaining federal and owner gates, the physical delivery chain would typically involve quarry development, drill-and-blast activity, extraction, primary and secondary crushing, screening, stockpile management, internal haul roads, load-out and bulk transport. BBI is treating those as capability areas inherent to a hard-rock quarry rather than confirmed Gunalda contract packages.
The site’s position near the Bruce Highway is strategically relevant for freight efficiency and access to regional road and construction markets. Earlier Wagners commentary specifically linked the quarry to demand in the Gympie region and surrounding areas.
The federal process now sits over an older local approval history
The project has local approval history, but the fresh Commonwealth process matters
Gunalda’s long development history can make its status easy to overstate. Local approval and older company references to operational readiness do not automatically answer current obligations under Commonwealth environmental law.
The 24 September EPBC portal listing is therefore the key current milestone. The next material development will be the Commonwealth decision on the referral and, if the action requires further federal assessment, the pathway and conditions that follow.
Only after the required approvals are settled would BBI expect the project to move into clearer execution signals such as final plant configuration, procurement of crushing and screening equipment, civil enabling works, electrical and utility packages, haulage planning, commissioning and production ramp-up.
The contractor opportunity is real in principle, but not yet released
A quarry build creates a broad specialist supply chain once execution begins
A greenfield or substantially developed hard-rock quarry can create demand across crushing and screening plant, conveyors, structural steel, electrical distribution, controls, workshops, fuel and water infrastructure, weighbridge systems, civil earthworks, haul roads, drill-and-blast services, mobile plant, environmental monitoring, maintenance and bulk haulage.
Gunalda’s strategic attraction is magnified by Wagners’ vertical integration. The company operates across construction materials, concrete, transport and project services, meaning an additional quarry source can support both external customers and internal downstream demand.
However, the current federal referral is not evidence that these packages are now in the market. Contractors should monitor Wagners’ authorised channels and formal procurement notices rather than assume that historical approval or the EPBC referral creates an immediate bid opportunity.
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What BBI is watching next
- EPBC referral 2026/10642 is listed for Gunalda Hard Rock Quarry.
- Wagners Quarries Pty Ltd is identified as the proponent.
- The portal lists the action at 121 Hermans Road, Scotchy Pocket.
- The referral decision is open for public comment.
- Historic Wagners disclosures described the quarry as a long-life aggregate source with local approval history.
- The site has long been positioned to serve regional road, concrete and civil markets.
- Commonwealth referral decision and any required assessment pathway.
- Updated project scope, production rate and capital program.
- Final crushing and screening plant configuration.
- Civil and enabling works packages.
- Electrical, utilities, mobile plant and workshop packages.
- Haulage, commissioning and production commencement.
Contractor and supplier signals to monitor
Sources and primary references
- Australian Government EPBC Act Public Portal — Gunalda Hard Rock Quarry, EPBC 2026/10642
- Wagners Holding Company Limited — 2017 prospectus, quarry portfolio and Gunalda useful-life disclosure
- Wagners Holding Company Limited — 2018 Annual Report, Gunalda approved and ready for development
- Quarry Magazine — Wagners Gunalda market, location and employment commentary
- ABC News — Gympie council approval context for major Gunalda quarry development