The profile of yet another Queensland coal mining project is likely to increase as the small, specialist mining company Bounty Mining has made a deal which may see it taking a controlling 51% share in the risky development proposal, leaving Indigenous Traditional Owners with a mere 12.5% stake. Publicly listed Bounty Mining Ltd (ASX share market code: BNT) now plan capital-raising to fund “…feasibility studies and finalisation of the Environmental Impact Statement [EIS].”

Environmental threats and economic risks.

Is this the future for Cape York?

Environmental approvals seem far from certain noting that:

• The mine site is adjacent to the Lakefield and Cape Melville National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and contains a nature reserve. The  Wongai coal mine is proposed for the shores of Princess Charlotte Bay on Cape York (about 150 kilometres northwest of Cooktown)
• The proposal involves coal transhipment points, adjacent to the Flinders Islands in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. The proposal would introduce barges, three coal transhipment points and additional shipping to an area currently free of such activities.
• There are significant wetlands on and adjacent to the property that could easily be damaged by any underground activities disturbing the aquifers of the region. The depth of the mine and bord and pillar mining method is likely to cause subsidence issues.
• The proposal features a haul road through wildlife rich country.

Mutiny on the Bounty?

It is interesting to note that in the Bounty Mining preliminary final report for the year ending June 2013 (available as an ASX announcement) the company states “In June 2013 Bounty announced a programme of redundancies to align operations with reduced demand for coal mining services in the current economic climate” and “VETL Pty Ltd (VETL), a company associated with Bounty’s chairman is the main lender to Bounty. On 1^st August 2013 the independent directors determined that Bounty does not have the means to make further loan repayments to VETL.”

Will Bounty Mining be able to raise the funds from share sales or loans to turn an environmentally risky, socially questionable and economically doubtful mine into a reality? 

Even if the mine goes ahead how many of the speculated 200 odd jobs would go to locals? One wonders if along with the inevitable damage to environmental values and risks to the important cultural values of the area, could the Traditional Owners be left with only 12.5% of an unprofitable mine? Do they actually risk being worse off (liable) if the mine goes under -left with a damaged landscape and no funding for rehabilitation?

Links:

Background: Wongai – FNQ’s Franklin River? March 20, 2013 By Brynn Mathews

Bounty Mining: http://www.bounty.com.au/

Aust-Pac Capital: http://www.wongaiproject.com.au/

Media article: ‘Threat to Barrier Reef raised as indigenous mine deal signed’, The Australian newspaper, Sept 16:

You can find out more about this project and the status of the referral and assessment process under the EPBC Act by clicking here.

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A higher exchange rate puts pressure on the non-mining sectors of the economy to remain competitive. Manufacturing in Queensland has declined 6.5 per cent over the past year and the number of international tourist coming to Queensland has fallen 6 per cent since the beginning of the mining boom as foreign travellers increasingly choose cheaper destinations. While some mining jobs are well paid, the reality for the 99 per cent of Queenslanders who don’t work in the mining industry is higher housing costs, higher mortgage interest rates and fewer jobs in tourism, manufacturing and agriculture.

In Queensland there are a large number of proposed mining projects that if completed will cause significant structural change to that State’s economy and Australia as a whole. Using Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE) statistics this paper examines the costs associated with 39 mining projects identified for Queensland.
These 39 projects together have capital expenditure of more than $55 billion and will employ an estimated 39,668 people. However, modelling for another mining project in Queensland, the China First mine located in the Galilee Basin, has shown that under generous assumptions one non-mining job will be destroyed for every two mining jobs created.

That is, it is possible that the proposed mining projects could destroy almost 20,000 jobs across Queensland and Australia. The majority of these job losses, almost 15,000, will be in manufacturing.
Significantly, such an approach is likely to be an underestimate as it assumes that the higher wages offered by the mining industry will convince a pool of almost 20,000 currently ‘invisible’ workers to enter the workforce. It is difficult to see how this can happen with the present tight labour market. It also ignores that the mining boom will continue to drive the high exchange rate which will cause further job losses in other sectors of the economy.

Research has shown that Australians overestimate the positive economic effects of the mining boom and little consideration is given to the economic costs. The mining boom will make large profits for the largely foreign owners of the mining companies and benefit those workers who are closely associated with the industry, but other Australian businesses and mortgage owners will have to contend with higher exchange rates and interest rates. While it is easy for proponents to talk up the benefits of individual mines, when they are considered together the overall impact is not as positive as the Australian public has been led to believe. The mining industry is quick to claim credit for job creation but is reluctant to take responsibility for any adverse impacts the expansion of their activities may cause.

March 20, 2012 Matt Grudnoff

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Queensland Resources Minister Andrew Cripps recently told AAP that “uranium mining in Queensland has not been the subject of a serious public discussion in Queensland for many years.”

Yet in reality, there been a serious international discussion about uranium and the impacts of the nuclear industry for many decades. In recent times this discussion has been heightened by last year’s nuclear disaster in Japan at Fukushima (pictured), a disaster that was fuelled by Australian uranium.

It was from Australia’s uranium mines that the nuclear tragedy of Fukushima originated. Our uranium was in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex when hit by a tsunami in March 2011.

The push to convince the LNP Government to overturn the decade long ban on uranium mining in Queensland most often comes from those with a vested financial interest.

The Queensland Resources Council and the Australian Uranium Association tell us that it’s time to develop this State’s uranium resources. Cutting greenhouse gas emissions, economic development and Indigenous engagement is provided as convenient justifications.

However, such justification to create one of the most hazardous industrial wastes just doesn’t stack up. Uranium is not renewable and its radioactivity represents a serious health risk.

It’s hard to imagine the Australian Uranium Association or Queensland Resources Council speaking out about climate change without a vested interest in selling uranium.

If we are serious about cutting greenhouse gas emissions and engaging Indigenous communities in sustainable economic development; we should be looking to the opportunities for solar, wind and thermal energy development across northern Australia.

Indigenous land has some of the best opportunities for the development of these alternative energy industries, a clean and green industry could directly benefit indigenous communities as much as, if not more than, mineral extraction.

Queensland’s uranium deposits are all in the north of the state, from Settlement Creek near the NT border, through Mt Isa and south to Cloncurry, and from Townsville north to Charters Towers and Georgetown.

“Uranium mining consistently generates more hazards, heartache and headlines than benefits.  Queensland, especially regional Queensland, is ideally placed to be a world leader in the globe’s fastest growing energy sector – renewable energy,” says Dave Sweeney, Nuclear Free Campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation.

Around Australia there are three operational mines; Ranger in Kakadu, Olympic Dam and Beverly in South Australia.

In a recent article, Sweeney describes his recent trip to Japan’s Fukushima region with doctors, academics and radiation health specialists. Over 150,000 people are still displaced in temporary housing shelters because of radiation contaminating their land – radiation flowing from Australian uranium.

As a result of the massive human, social and economic costs now faced by Japan and the growing tide of public sentiment towards the nuclear power industry; Japan has announced plans to switch off all nuclear reactors by 2040. Similar trends have reverberated through parts of Europe.

The other dark side to the uranium industry is its potential military applications.

In December 2011 the Gillard Government announced it would move to sell Australian uranium to India. India is a nuclear armed state and is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

In selling uranium to India, Australia signaled it was willing to do business with nations with an active nuclear weapons program.

Now Pakistan wants to buy our uranium too.

“Adding Australian uranium to the mix would not ease the long standing tensions between India and its nuclear-armed neighbours or improve the effectiveness of the global nuclear safeguards regime,” says Sweeney.

With uranium process heading south in the face of high risks, loss of market and political appetite, it makes no sense to back the introduction of this contested and contaminating industry in North Queensland.

Before the last State election, Campbell Newman made a ‘crystal clear’ statement that there were no plans to change Queensland’s position on uranium mining. It’s time our political leaders kept their commitments and back the renewable energy sector. Uranium is not a safe option for Queensland or Queenslanders.

Andrew Picone is VIce President of the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre and Acting Northern Australia Program Manager for the Australian Conservation Foundation.

This article was published on 21 September 2012 on www.newsport.com.au 

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Flow of support is changing as mine gets set to re-open

The Walsh River, a life source for hundreds of residents and livestock running all the way to the Gulf, continues to be threatened by toxic contaminants from the Baal Gammon Mine.

Since March of this year, the mine has been issued three Environmental Protection Orders demanding action to clean up the site and minimise the harm. The requirements of these still remain unfulfilled.

In an incredible show of support for the group trying to protect one of the Tablelands’ most loved rivers from mining, over 300 people signed their petition in just one day.

The petition, now with over 1000 signatures, calls for the companies responsible for contaminating the water supply of local residents to be held accountable and to follow the rules.

Many local businesses and families openly supported the mine on commencement. It promised to bring a stronger economy for the local region and new employment possibilities.

Since then, the contamination of their creek and river, their plans for expansion into a heavily occupied part of the valley, and Kagara’s inability to pay local accounts, has many changing their minds.

Noise, dust, water quality (including reports of dead fish), degradation of local roads, and un-paid bills are the most common complaints made.

It is well known that Jamie Creek already contained some level of contamination as a result of historical mining activities. Baal Gammon Copper Pty Ltd told local residents in their permit application that it “would clean up the area”, and “lower the soil contamination associated with historical mining” on the mining lease.

To date, the current mining activities have only increased the concentration and type of contaminants being released.

On March 6, Jamie Creek, which flows into the Walsh River, was confirmed to be contaminated with dangerous levels of arsenic and cadmium, many times higher than the acceptable limits for drinking, swimming, or feeding to livestock. Yet it took 48 hours for residents within a 2km radius to be informed, and those within a 5km radius were never informed that their water was unsafe.

Controversy over the mine is flaming in the small local community of Herberton, where the mine site has sat dormant since it closed back in April of this year due to financial difficulties.

According to their site officer, Baal Gammon Copper Pty Ltd and Kagara Pty Ltd (now in voluntary administration) who caused the contamination, are now planning to re-open the mine.

Additionally, there is a new lease application to extend mining activity further into the valley, a far more heavily populated area, and a whole new stretch of the Walsh River would be at risk of contamination.

In direct response to these events, locals’ support for mining activities near this river system has turned, with a remarkable 81 official objections made to the new lease, up from just 4 objectors when the current mine first announced its intention to open.

On March 6 it was confirmed, “…that contaminant levels of the water seeping into Jamie Creek is consistent with Acid Mine Drainage” by Officers from the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.

And at levels “…that are of concern for potential human health, primary industry and ecosystem impacts.” The report stated water samples contained arsenic, cadmium, copper and sulphate at high levels.

Where Jamie Creek enters the Walsh River, is a popular recreational swimming and fishing area, known by locals as “the beach”. It is especially favoured by families because of its great sandy beach and ease of accessibility, which makes playing safe and fun with young children.

No warning was provided to the hundreds of Queenslanders who have swam or fished in the water since the contamination.

Those most likely to be affected by levels of arsenic are going to be young children, the elderly, people with long-term illnesses, and unborn babies.

The companies involved have been ordered to address a number of matters outlined in the Protection Order dated June 14, the majority of which do not have to be completed until November 1, yet the mine is set to re-open any day.

With the news of the mine’s imminent re-opening and expansion, locals are feeling powerless to protect their waterways.

It is a concern for all Tablelanders, Cairns residents, and Far North Queenslanders alike, and the community would appreciate your support.

Donate and help the fight as residents call to be heard in a Land Court of Australia hearing. Help them raise the $6,000 necessary to pay for representation, which has been lost due to recent government funding cuts. www.savethewalsh.org

ENDS

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for more info contact:The Media Adviser

Tel +61 7 4096 2380 | Mob +61 (0) 431 177 397

Email: concerned-bg-residents@nullmail.com

www.savethewalsh.org

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