Cherokee County Council on Monday unanimously approved a tax break for a mining company that wants to locate in the Blacksburg area.

Under the inducement agreement, the yet-tobe identified company would be taxed at a 7 percent assessment rate rather than the typical 10 percent rate for industries.

In exchange, the company has pledged to invest at least $15 million

and create 40 jobs within five years, Cherokee County Development Board Director Jim Cook said.

The company will also add about 300 jobs to the local economy during the initial phase of the project, including construction of an office building and building a new road.

The economic development project first came to light in late June when Blacksburg Town Council voted unanimously to donate two acres of property to the company. The property was once used by the town for a wastewater treatment plant and is located off Highway 198 and Interstate 85.

The property donated by Blacksburg is located near a railroad trestle. There is no road frontage to the site.

Cook said he expects the company to make an official announcement about the project within a week or two.

The company would be the second mining operation in the county. Vulcan Materials has operated a mine in the northern part of the county for decades.