…….as it prepares to allow the reactivation of the Hillgrove antimony mine which is the focus of much of this contamination and, looks favourably on the prospect of the re-opening of another old antimony mine at Wild Cattle Creek in the Nymboida River system within the wider Clarence River catchment.
NSW Parliament Legislative Council Hansard 8 September 2011:
As a result, staff of the Office of Environment and Heritage in Armidale notified NSW Health, the Premier's regional coordinator and, subsequently, Kempsey Shire Council and appropriate district emergency officers, and began an investigation into the incident. Run-off from goldmines can contain heavy metals. Therefore, both the company Straits (Hillgrove) Gold Pty Ltd and NSW Health undertook water quality monitoring to provide information to inform the appropriate response. I am advised that historic mining from more than 100 years ago and erosion of highly mineralised soils have deposited a plume of material containing heavy metals in the river system from the Hillgrove area to the Pacific Ocean, an area of approximately 200 kilometres. That is quite a plume. I am further advised that the plume will continue to release elevated levels of heavy metals through physical, biological and chemical processes for millennia. [my bolding]
The response from Clarence Valley residents was predicably firm, as evidenced by this opinion piece written by The Daily Examiner editor on 12 October 2011:
Digging up dirt on mine
“The spill occurred after continued wet weather produced excess stormwater which exceeded the amount of water that could be stored in the dam.”
“The spill occurred after continued wet weather produced excess stormwater which exceeded the amount of water that could be stored in the dam.”
THE NSW Minister for Finance, Greg Pearce, may have inadvertently rung an enormous alarm bell for Clarence Valley residents with comments last month about the Hillgrove antimony mine, east of Armidale.
Mr Pearce, who represents the environment minister in the Upper House, was asked by Greens MLC Jeremy Buckingham what the government was doing to ensure a proposed antimony mine at Wild Cattle Creek did not pollute the Nymboida River.
Mr Buckingham said there had been evidence of contamination from the Hillgrove mine and wanted to know what was being done to prevent contamination of the Nymboida or further contamination of the Macleay from the existing pollution.
Mr Pearce initially shrugged off the question, suggesting he didn’t understand what Mr Buckingham was asking.
But later he returned and said: “The Office of Environment and Heritage was notified that stormwater was overflowing from a dam at the Hillgrove mine, east of Armidale, at 11.45am on Monday, August 29, 2011. The mine is currently not operating but is in care-and-maintenance mode. The spill occurred after continued wet weather produced excess stormwater which exceeded the amount of water that could be stored in the dam.”
“I am advised that historic mining from more than 100 years ago and erosion of highly mineralised soils have deposited a plume of material containing heavy metals in the river system from the Hillgrove area to the Pacific Ocean, an area of approximately 200km. That is quite a plume. I am further advised that the plume will continue to release elevated levels of heavy metals through physical, biological and chemical processes for millennia.”
Mr Pearce, we want absolute guarantees there will be no leaching of toxins into the Nymboida and subsequently the Clarence, and if that means no mining, so be it.
Photo of Greg Pearce from NSW Parliament House Full Ministry in Both Houses webpage
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