A German start-up company has secured an exploration license from the NSW Government to comb through volcanic deposits for metals used in the batteries of electric vehicles.
Sons of Bavaria Investments are trying to fill the booming demand for metals like copper - and think the mineral deposits at Bulldog Mountain in the Northern Rivers region might just do the trick.
But locals are suspicious of another mine in the area - with concerns over the sustainability of agricultural and tourism industries already established there, and a collection of threatened species to protect.