In 1999, Calleja Group acquired the former CSR Hardboard Mill, comprising 78 hectares of zoned industrial land and 354 hectares of farming land adjacent to the MBC site.

The industrial zoned site contains a large manufacturing complex which employed over 450 people at the peak of CSR Hardboard Mills production. Under Calleja Group ownership, the site has been and is continuing to be developed as an industrial complex housing a variety of compatible manufacturing industries.

\With the coal mine continuing to produce coal for a range of fertilisers and soil conditioners, the Calleja Group worked for more than two decades to develop two patented technologies, COLDry and MATMOR, enhance its use as a reductant to produce steel and make the pellets lighter for improved transportability.

To assist this complex process, in 2003 Calleja constructed two pilot manufacturing plants at JBD with the objective to develop the technologies for future commercialisation. Once proven, the patents were sold to Environmental Clean Technologies Ltd (ECT), an ASX listed company. ECT now operates the pilot plants at JBD.

Calleja Group Managing Director, Don Calleja said “This transaction aligns with the interests of the COLDry and MATMOR stakeholders. We are now shareholders in ECT and are pleased that the new owners of the technologies are in a better position to take both processes to full commercialisation. To a large extent, this transaction fulfils the dream of our brother, the late David Calleja, who worked tirelessly over 10 years on developing the COLDry and MATMOR technologies.”