Sunshine Coast Council has issued a blast notification for Image Flat Quarry, advising residents of an upcoming rock blast scheduled for Monday, 28 September 2026, between 9am and 3pm, weather and site conditions permitting.
The blast will take place at the Council-owned quarry at 178 Image Flat Road, Image Flat, north-west of Nambour. Council has asked residents in the area to have adequate measures in place for household occupants, animals and livestock on the day, and to expect the possibility of noise and ground vibration during the specified window.
What Residents Can Expect
Council’s notice states that ground vibration and air overpressure, the technical term for blast noise, may be felt or heard in the surrounding area. Noise and vibration limits for the site are set under Environmentally Relevant Authority permit EPPR00777413, issued by the Department of Environment and Science, and Council’s contracted blasting operators are required to work within compliance guidelines set by the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation under the Environmental Protection Act 1994.
Council says best practice blasting techniques are applied to minimise disturbance to nearby properties. Dust suppression measures used at the site more broadly include water sprays on crushing equipment, covered conveyors and water truck spraying within the quarry perimeter.
Residents with pets or livestock are advised to plan ahead of the 9am to 3pm window, as blasting activity of this kind can startle animals even where noise and vibration levels remain within permitted limits.
What the Quarry Produces, and Why It’s Blasting
Image Flat Quarry has operated since around 1959 and is one of two Council-owned quarry sites in the region, the other being Dulong Quarry. Blasting is carried out by qualified contractors engaged by Council to extract rock for supply to Council infrastructure and road maintenance projects, as well as to external commercial contractors.
The rock extracted at Image Flat is rhyolite, a hard volcanic material. Once blasted, it is crushed, screened and separated by size before being stockpiled for collection or delivery, with some products blended to customer specifications. Council markets the finished material for general fill, low-grade road base, drainage aggregates, retaining wall stone and seawall construction.
Image Flat is the more heavily used and processed of Council’s two quarry sites. Rock blasted at Dulong, a separate basalt deposit, is trucked to Image Flat for crushing rather than processed on site, meaning Image Flat functions as the hub for both quarries’ output.
Scale and Frequency
The combined Image Flat and Dulong operation is permitted under its environmental authority to extract between 100,000 and one million tonnes of rock annually, though this is an approved ceiling rather than a confirmed production figure. The most recent publicly available operational figure, from a 2020 Council contract, put intended processing at around 350,000 tonnes a year of rhyolite and basalt across both sites. Blasting at Dulong is limited to around two campaigns a year, with the shot rock hauled to Image Flat afterwards for processing.
Quarry operating hours are generally 6am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday, excluding public holidays, with a two-week shutdown over Christmas and New Year. Blasting is typically scheduled between 9am and 3pm on weekdays, in line with the timeframe given for the 28 September blast.
Residents wanting further detail on blast planning, quarry operations or products can visit Council’s Quarry Services page, where they can also subscribe to future blast notifications or opt out at any time. The next scheduled blast at Image Flat Quarry is set for Monday, 28 September 2026.
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