A Northern Territory gold mine that could create up to 80 jobs and provide a shot in the arm to the embattled nearby town of Pine Creek could be put in jeopardy by a rare and tiny flying mammal.

Key points: Managers of the Union Reefs site say the mine could create up to 80 jobs

Managers of the Union Reefs site say the mine could create up to 80 jobs A federal agency is currently investigating the ghost bat population at the site

A federal agency is currently investigating the ghost bat population at the site Pine Creek locals are optimistic the mine could give a boost to their struggling town

A small population of the ghost bat — which was listed as a threatened species in 2016 — exists at the site of the mothballed Union Reefs gold mine and poses an environmental hurdle to the project's reopening.

Research suggests there are less than 10,000 of these ghost bats, Macroderma gigas, in existence with up to 3,500 of these in the NT — and the population is declining.

Kirkland Lake Gold project director Mark Edwards said the bat population at the site was between 20 to 30 and the species was posing a challenge to their pending Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

"The ghost bats are certainly the main issue that we're looking at," said Mr Edwards.

"We understand what the issues are, and we're working with both research and the government to try to have the least amount of impact."

Project director of Kirkland Lake Gold, Mark Edwards, at the Union Reefs mine site. ( ABC News: Matt Garrick )

Mr Edwards said it was "absolutely" nerve-wracking waiting for a green light due to the bats.

"There's a lot of people who are also wanting to understand what's going on, because there are other proponents around here who are wanting to mine, and ghost bats are becoming an issue for them too," Mr Edwards said.

The firm's draft EIS shows 170 ghost bats were lost at the Union Reefs site when their habitats were destroyed during excavation in 1992.

Dr Damian Milne, a senior scientist at the NT Department of Environment and an expert in microbats, said: "The number one threat that's been identified for ghost bats is loss of habitat and degradation due to mining activities.

"Any mining activity that's associated with their key roosting habitats can have an effect … on their survivability," Dr Milne said.

Agency investigating mine's impact on bats

The future of the project now hangs largely on an assessment of the firm's completed EIS by the federal Department of Environment.

In a statement, a spokesperson said the NT mine proposal had been referred to the department in 2019 "because of its likely impacts on the ghost bat."

"The proposal is being assessed under the bilateral arrangements in place between the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory," a department spokesman said.

"This means that the Northern Territory [Environmental Protection Authority] is leading the assessment process and will provide an assessment report … that the Commonwealth will consider when making a decision on whether to approve the project."

The ghost bat population at the Union Reefs site could prove an environmental hurdle for the project. ( Supplied: Featherdale Wildlife Park )

Mr Edwards said the firm was working with researchers to potentially open new habitats for the ghost bats in historic collapsed mining shafts or in other, artificially created sites.

If the EIS gets the green light, Kirkland Lake Gold said it would want to restart production at the pit within the year, with the aim of mining and milling 500 tonnes from the site per day.

Mine could be shot in the arm for embattled town

Locals in the historic gold-mining town of Pine Creek said the mine could offer a boost to its languishing economy.

Lifelong Pine Creek resident Eddie Ah Toy said he shut his general store in 2015 following the departure of ore mining and a crash in gold prices.

He said it had been a "lean five years for businesses in town" since then.

"It's been five years of not much activity around the place," Mr Ah Toy said.

"We're only depending on people on the tourist [circuit], and that's for only six months of the year … it affects everybody."

Lifelong Pine Creek resident Eddie Ah Toy closed his business when the price of gold crashed around 2015. ( ABC News: Matt Garrick )

Mr Ah Toy said the additional 50 to 80 jobs from Union Reefs — about 30 kilometres from the township — "would be good for the town".

"You've got 80 extra guys around who are thirsty and stuff like that, it's good for the area," he said.

Long-term resident and gold miner Tony 'Jumbo' Harvey said while he was optimistic about what the reopening could bring to Pine Creek, he wanted to see even more workers brought in and hoped the Union Reefs move could eventually lead to an expansion.

"[But] 80 new workers — we want to see about 580 new workers. That'd be really good. It's around about that, the big numbers, is when you start getting the flyover into town," Mr Harvey said.

Mr Edwards said the company would attempt to hire a majority of locally NT-based workers, if and when the project forged ahead.