HEARTACHE and despair are matched by tenacity and courage in a small town that has borne the brunt of the Cobbora Coal Project (CCP) saga.
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Residents of drought-toughened Dunedoo on the Golden Highway are certain of the survival of the town "where people make a difference".
But some of them are worn down if not beaten by the so far unfulfilled promise of mining on their doorstep.
The CCP will be offered for sale or lease by the state government that inherited the "dud deal of century" from its predecessor.
Expert advice to the current government that taking the mine to production would cost taxpayers $1.5 billion prompted it to find ways of terminating contracts to supply large volumes of cheap coal to power stations.
State-owned Cobbora Holding Company is pursuing development approval for the mine.
The first sign six years ago that a mine was on the horizon was bureaucrats seeking to buy properties at Cobbora and surrounding localities, and the beginning of an exodus of farming families from the district.
A worried Dunedoo was led to believe that cashed-up miners would help fill the void.
Warrumbungle Shire Council reports of the loss of "70 households and 90 people", most of who supported big and small businesses in Dunedoo.
The businesses, some encouraged to be ready for increased trade, have watched good money go down the drain, customers and staff fall away and annual turnovers plummet.
The rest of the community has not been left unscathed.
There are more empty seats on school buses and in Dunedoo schools.
In and out of Dunedoo, young and old miss long-gone neighbours and friends.
Membership of the town's bowling club and sports club has dropped significantly.
Sponsorship for some sporting and community organisations has disappeared and the district's volunteer ranks depleted.
Teachers and nurses are among a town workforce feeling insecure about future residency.
In all 32,500 hectares of agricultural land has changed hands, having previously generated $24 million annual revenue and supported 400 direct and indirect jobs in the region, reports the shire council.
It is sceptical of the ability of the state government's move to lease more CCP land to farmers and graziers to alter the town's current fortunes, because of anticipated reduced productivity and investment in infrastructure by lessees.
The government's intention to stimulate the economies of Warrumbungle, Dubbo, Mid-Western Regional and Wellington local government areas as it offloads the CCP involves the distribution of a total of $20 million.
Each council is guaranteed $1 million, with the remaining $16 million up for grabs.
Criteria for accessing the funding is expected to be outlined at a meeting in Dunedoo on October 9.
More than a dozen Dunedoo residents who spoke to the Daily Liberal this week have suggested the town of "less than 1000 people" should get no less than 60 per cent of the residual cash.
They talked of its potential to boost employment and business opportunities through wide-ranging infrastructure projects considered able to broaden the appeal of the town to travellers, visitors and people looking to settle in the region, if and when the mine was built.
About half of the residents still believed the mine was key to the town's future growth and prosperity.
The government has expressed confidence in being able to find a new owner for the mine.
Dunedoo's main street remains busy, hiding the economic and human toll of the CCP.
