TriAusMin, which has NSW planning approval for a $126 million project to re-work Woodlawn mine's tailings and go underground, is talking to several potential financiers.

Chief executive Wayne Taylor said raising money was still tough with nuances in the base metals markets critical.

''It's not an easy environment, still quite challenging although we have seen this week a little more positive signs on the gold market and hoping that will help more positive sentiment back to our sector, which is dearly needed at the moment,'' he said.

Woodlawn has potential to mine up to 1.5 million tonnes of tailings and underground ore per year, to produce a maximum of 150,000 tonnes of copper, lead, zinc or concentrate per year, for up to 21 years.

Mining near Tarago stopped in 1998. Reopening the mine will create 200 construction jobs, and 140 ongoing jobs, with workers likely from Queanbeyan and Goulburn.

Highest concentrations are in zinc, followed by lead and copper and small amounts of gold and silver. Sentiment from rebounding gold prices could boost overall funding.

The mine's former void is a major landfill for Sydney's waste, which is delivered by rail and will continue operating alongside the mine, and 11 wind turbines.

Retreatment of tailings and going underground are possible as stand-alone projects.

Mr Taylor said there were several options. ''If we start with tailings, we'll have construction costs of $93 million and more to get into a cash-flow positive.

''Ideally, if we could run underground and the tailings together, right from outset, which is where the high capital number comes from, that would give us access to much higher grade material and using the tailings in essence to make up a production source, so we would fill plant capacity with the tailings.''

The extent of the start would depend on investors and financing over coming weeks or months.

''There is quite a bit of interest. There is interest in exposure to the zinc market, which has very good supply and demand fundamentals if you are on supply side.''

Mr Taylor said large operations that accounted for more than 15 per cent of the world zinc production were coming off line.

Galvanising, the main use for zinc, was continuing to grow as the world's corrosion standards increased.

He said TriAusMin's access to North America's financial markets was a focal point because the market understood the zinc story better than the Australian market.

Mining will generate 10 B-double truck journeys a day to ports via Collector Road, the Federal and Hume highways and 20 trucks a day to the mine, bringing cement and other materials from Berrima and Sydney.