In Rockdale, where two of the largest mines in the country operate just outside the city limits, the city manager, Barbara Holly, told The Times that that town used to be “a fairly wealthy little community.” She said that changed when a large industrial plant that had provided thousands of jobs closed more than a decade ago. “It just cut the legs out from under this community,” she said.
It was the old aluminum smelter, now home to the Bitdeer mine.
