Mine closure forces outback town to face uncertain future

The purpose-built mining town of Leigh Creek is unique among the outback townships of the northern Flinders Ranges.

It has a hospital.

Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Smooth bitumen roads and carefully maintained infrastructure.

It resembles a leafy suburb of Adelaide -- it's nothing like the dusty outback posts nearby.

It's also a closed town, owned by the state government and leased to mining company Alinta Energy.

Only employees of the coal mine and support staff are able to live here.

That hasn't stopped residents like Kirsty Nicholls from putting down roots.

"It's a beautiful place, it's an awesome town. It's a great set-up. It would be sad to just see it go. There's so many tourists that use it, and surrounding station people as well. So it would be really sad to see it just bulldozed, or left to rot."

When Alinta Energy ceased operations last year, 250 workers lost their jobs.

Many packed up their families and left in search of work.

Desley Wardell runs the town's supermarket, one of the few remaining businesses still open in Leigh Creek.

She says the sharp decline has hit locals hard.

"Oh the township has gone down, yes. There's only about a third of the people left here, so we're struggling at the moment to keep the doors open. We've lost our community. Friends… everybody is gone. It's very hard."

With the mine that sustained the town now gone, Leigh Creek must reinvent itself if it hopes to survive.

After months of community consultation, the state government-commissioned Leigh Creek Futures report has recommended the town become an open town.

Adnyamathanha man Terry Coulthard [kool-tard] says the move could benefit local Indigenous Australians.

"Certainly our people, Adnyamathanha people, would move into those houses tomorrow if they became available. And that would certainly keep the town alive."

With the next large town a five-hour drive away, his community of Nepabunna relies on Leigh Creek for essential services.

"We just only hope a doctor remains there, you know the medical, hospital remains, that'd be fantastic, because we still need it, the school, we need all those services."

The Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association, or ATLA, runs the popular Wilpena Pound resort in the southern Flinders Ranges.

Chair of the group, Michael Anderson, sees an opportunity to use Leigh Creek's infrastructure to attract more tourists to the sprawling desert landscape.

"That's right in the heartland of our traditional land, and we see ourselves as being part of the landscape. We're prepared to look at all possibilities, ranging from a complete takeover, if necessary, and become a regional authority."

The state government welcomes ATLA's initiative.

State Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Kyam Maher, told SBS in a statement:

"the State Government is supportive of any tourism proposals for the area, including from the ATLA. ATLA is already doing great work at places like Wilpena Pound, and that could be replicated at Leigh Creek."

For now, the town will be administrated by the Regional Outback Authority, which looks after dozens of unincorporated towns across South Australia.

There are hopes Leigh Creek can attract another big energy project in the future.

Until then, tourism may well be the town's biggest source of income.

But it isn't likely to be nearly as lucrative as mining was before it.

And some, like supermarket owner Desley Wardell, fear it won't be enough to ensure the town's survival.

"We cannot survive on tourism alone, because that is only six months of the year. It is so hot, people won't come here. And also, where do we get our staff from to run our business?"

The state government has committed to keeping essential services running until at least 2018.

Beyond that, the town's fate remains to be seen.