Win for Wiradjuri people in Cowal Lake mine battle
BY JOSEPH HULL
Traditional owners have won a decisive victory in a court battle to prevent the expansion of a gold mine near Cowal Lake in regional NSW.
The Land and Environment Court granted an injunction preventing Planning Minister Kristina Keneally from allowing proposed modifications, including enlarging the mine, increasing production and upgrading infrastructure such as tailings dams and stockpiles. Barrick Gold also proposed increasing employee numbers and extending the life of the mine by seven years.
Justice Biscoe upheld the challenge to the E42 modification request, agreeing the modifications amounted to an entirely new development, rather than a modification as permitted under s 75W. ‘Its not a modification, its an extension of the mine,’ says Neville ‘Chappie’ Williams, Wiradjuri elder and applicant in the proceedings.
Initial approval for the mine met significant resistance from environmental groups, with the project subjected to two inquiries and a mandatory environmental impact statement.
Environmental groups claim that the mine, which consists of an open pit of approximately 100 ha on surface level and 325 metres deep, could threaten flora and fauna and Aboriginal sacred sites, and leak dangerous chemicals, including cyanide and arsenic, into the surrounding area.
‘There are two tailing damns, 1.5 square kilometres large, with no lining. The process they are using leaks cyanide into the water table. Farmers in the area can’t grow food, but the mining companies can use virtually as much water as they want,’ Mr Williams says.
‘We’re not going to go away, and we’re not going to give up. We are going to fight to the bitter end, to protect and preserve our ancient cultural heritage. We are ready to take on anything that Barrick puts up.’
Barrick Gold disputes claims of environmental and cultural degradation, asserting the mine is subject to strict controls conforming to global safety standards.
But Al Oshlack, counsel for Mr Williams, said the modification application avoided the need for an environmental impact statement. He said a relationship existed between political donations and approval of modifications to mining projects. He claimed the laws were ‘tailor made for the mining companies’ and that 99 per cent of s3a applications were approved.
‘The laws were brought in for the benefit of developers,’ Mr Oshlack said. ‘Under the [modification] laws, the company only has to report animal deaths from cyanide. This avoids having to report the deaths from a whole array of other causes.’
Barrick Gold has confirmed it will appeal the decision.
