Australia may be on the cusp of a new generation of electric cars, but could the production of environmentally friendly vehicles mean the loss of some of the Clarence Valley's stunning forested mountains?

Key points: Germany's Sons of Bavaria Investments wants to explore volcanic deposits in the NSW Clarence Valley

Germany's Sons of Bavaria Investments wants to explore volcanic deposits in the NSW Clarence Valley The increasing popularity of electric vehicles is driving the demand for copper

The increasing popularity of electric vehicles is driving the demand for copper Residents are alarmed by the prospect of a large copper mine in their area

A German start-up company has secured an exploration licence from the New South Wales Government to scour the volcanic deposits at Bulldog Mountain, Ewingar, in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, for copper and other metals.

Sons of Bavaria Investments (SBI) is hoping to capitalise on predictions of a boom in demand for copper and other metals that are used in batteries for electric vehicles.

European drivers and particularly environmentally conscious Germans have a love affair with electric vehicles.

However, a shortage of metals needed in the production of batteries for electric vehicles could soon cause problems.

Electric cars driving global demand

Electric vehicles need up to five times as much copper as an internal combustion engine.

Hans W. Kummerow is the CEO of start-up mining company, Sons of Bavaria Investments ( Supplied: SIB )

"We're going to need to ramp up production," said the CEO of SBI, Hans Kummerow.

"You have one electric motor on every axle and there are a lot more electric wires in electric vehicles than internal combustion vehicles.

"Then you need for the battery, lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite."

An electric engine uses many more metals than an internal combustion engine. ( ABC News: Ian Cutmore, file photo )

Australia has lagged behind other developed countries in the uptake of electric vehicles but that could change if Labor wins government, after Bill Shorten pledged to restart the Australian car industry with an investment in electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles.

That could fuel even greater demand for metals necessary for production.

Gold and silver were the first metals to draw fortune-hunters to the Drake-Ewingar region in the mid-19th century.

They soon discovered the geological feature known as the Drake Volcanics contained many other metals as well.

Area rich in minerals

In April 1888, the Bendigo Advertiser published an account by a correspondent known as 'Nickle' which read "[Drake] is at the centre of what is undoubtedly the richest mineral district yet discovered in Australia".

"So rich is this district that one gentleman has specimens of 44 known elements procured in the immediate neighbourhood, many of the rarer elements being in sufficient abundance to make the mining of them a profitable speculation."

SBI applied for an exploration permit after a paper review of a drill core sample that was collected 50 years ago.

Mine workings from the Just In Time mine on Bulldog Rd, Ewingar. ( Supplied: Geoff Findlay )

"We did notice that there may be some geological layers in the Drake Volcanics that may not have been as interesting 50 years ago because technology may not be as advanced as it is today," Mr Kummerow said.

"And we'd like to take a second look to see if there might be enough metal to support, in the long run, a mining operation."

The company believes the deposit must be large for it to be economically feasible to support a mining operation for several decades.

The Sons of Bavaria website states the company is looking to bridge the gap between end users of metals and the source by inviting manufacturers to own a stake in the mine itself.

Suspicions raised by Mt Gilmore cobalt find

Residents are concerned about how mining could impact upon the Clarence and Mann River catchments. ( Supplied: Kim Core )

The company would also look for Australian investors to develop a mining project.

But the prospect of a potential copper mine in the district has alarmed some residents.

Geoff Findlay discovered the exploration permit had been granted for Ewingar after he saw Corazon Mining's announcement of a major discovery of cobalt, copper and silver at Mount Gilmore, north-west of Grafton.

"I became suspicious about the previous gold mine in the area," Mr Findlay said.

Mr Findlay said the rocky, mountainous terrain and high rainfall would dictate an open cut mine.

Sons of Bavaria Investments has secured an exploration licence to look for copper at Bulldog Mountain, Ewingar. ( Supplied: Virginia Tapp )

"These mines, they just become an open weeping sore that needs management for decades and that doesn't necessarily happen once the mining company leaves," Mr Findlay said.

"And our established sustainable industries — agriculture, fishing, tourism — they all rely on an intact environment to support them and once you strip the trees up and dig up the ground that's it, that land doesn't recover, it's gone."

Mr Kummerow said the company considered itself a guest in Australia and would hope for a social licence to operate if sufficient copper deposits were found to make a mining operation feasible.

"You need acceptance from the people where you want to build a mining operation," Mr Kummerow said.

"You need to talk to the people about what kind of operation they would tolerate in their neighbourhood or what they would like to see in terms of jobs."

He said the more dangerous work was likely to be undertaken by automation or robotics.

Concern for threatened species

The area is said to be a haven for tiger quolls. ( Supplied: Lucia Griggi )

However, a social licence may not be easily gained.

On Sunday, about 100 community members met to discuss this latest bid to explore for copper.

One of the concerns that was raised was the impact on vulnerable wildlife.

"There's not many places that contain tiger quolls and yellow-bellied gliders and giant barred frogs and eastern freshwater cod," Mr Findlay said.

"There's lots of threatened species in the Clarence and the Mann River that's the last place it really exists on the North Coast."

Long road from exploration licence to mining

The state member for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, said there was a considerable process involved in transitioning from exploration works to mining.

"It includes community consultation, an environmental impact statement which involves the community, as well as a development approval process," Mr Gulaptis said.

Mr Gulaptis said few exploration works developed into operating mines.

"It's quite a convoluted process and of course converting every exploration opportunity into a mine is really not achievable, in fact it's not done," he said.

"Very few exploration activities actually convert into a fully fledged mine."