Why proposed offshore mining in the Great Australian Bight matters to all of Australia

The Advertiser, 18 January 2015

BP p.l.c. is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, UK.

It operates in this country as BP Australia and Chevron.

On 11 October 2016 this multinational corporation announced it was not proceeding with its exploration drilling programme in the Great Australian Bight (GAB), offshore South Australia, in the foreseeable future.

It still owns two oil/gas exploration leases in the GAB.

The Norwegian multinational Equinor formerly Statoil Petroleum also holds two leases in the same area and intends to drill an exploratory well in one of them by October this year.

Last year in October the Morrison Coalition Government offered a new GAB acreage S18-1 for lease, with bids closing on 21 March 2019.

So it is well to remember how Big Oil views Australia…….

The Age, 6 April 2018:

Coastal towns would benefit from an oil spill in the pristine Great Australian Bight because the clean up would boost their economies, energy giant BP has claimed as part of its controversial bid to drill in the sensitive marine zone.

BP, which has since withdrawn the drilling plan, also told a federal government agency that a diesel spill would be considered “socially acceptable”.

BP made the statements in an environment plan submitted to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority in March 2016.

The company had been seeking to drill two wells off the South Australian coast, raising fears of an environmental disaster akin to BP's 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws, first published by London-based website Climate Home News, showed the government authority had identified serious shortcomings with BPs environment plan.

In a letter to BP, the authority said a number of statements should be removed or supported by analysis. They included BP's claim that “in most instances, the increased activity associated with cleanup operations will be a welcome boost to local economies”.

BP also claimed it had not identified any social impacts arising from the event of a diesel spill and “since there are no unresolved stakeholder concerns ... BP interprets this event to be socially acceptable”.

The Guardian, 6 April 2018:

In 2016, BP released modelling showing a spill could hit land as far away as New South Wales. The letters revealed that BP’s “worst case shoreline oiling scenario predicts oiling of 650km coastline ​at 125 days after the spill, increasing to 750km after 300 days”. Nopsema had raised concerns over BP’s ability to mobilise the people and equipment needed to clean up such a vast expanse of coast.

ABC News, 14 November 2018:

If an oil spill happened in the Great Australian Bight, it could reach as far east as Port Macquarie's beaches, two thirds of the way up the New South Wales coast, according to a leaked draft environment plan obtained by the ABC.

Under a "worst credible case discharge" scenario, more than 10 grams of oil per square metre could wash up on some of Australia's coasts, according to the document authored by Norwegian oil company Equinor.

Maps show coastal areas that could potentially be impacted, from above Sydney to Albany in Western Australia.

Environmental group Greenpeace, which obtained the leaked draft Oil Pollution Emergency Plan, said it was the first time modelling had shown an oil spill could reach so far....

BACKGROUND

Greenpeace, Crude Intentions: Exposing the risks of drilling and spilling in the Great Australian Bight [48 page PDF]

The Liberal Party's rednecks predictably make hay with Trump's anti-science rampage

This was what was displayed on the Prime Minister of Canada’s official website immediately after US President Donald Trump had announced his government’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.

Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada in response to the United States’ decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement

Ottawa, Ontario

June 1, 2017

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement in response to the United States’ decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement:

“We are deeply disappointed that the United States federal government has decided to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Canada is unwavering in our commitment to fight climate change and support clean economic growth. Canadians know we need to take decisive and collective action to tackle the many harsh realities of our changing climate.

“While the U.S. decision is disheartening, we remain inspired by the growing momentum around the world to combat climate change and transition to clean growth economies. We are proud that Canada stands united with all the other parties that support the Agreement. We will continue to work with our domestic and international partners to drive progress on one of the greatest challenges we face as a world.

“This is not only about the huge economic opportunities of clean growth and the need to address the pressing threats of climate change. This is about an ambitious and unshakeable desire to leave a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable planet for our kids and for generations to come.

“We are all custodians of this world, and that is why Canada will continue to work with the U.S. at the state level, and with other U.S. stakeholders, to address climate change and promote clean growth. We will also continue to reach out to the U.S. federal government to discuss this matter of critical importance for all humankind, and to identify areas of shared interest for collaboration, including on emissions reductions.”

This is what the Prime Minister of Australia’s official website looked like on the morning of 2 June 2017:

Not one word from Malcolm Bligh Turnbull as he cowered behind closed doors wary of offending both the climate change deniers in his own party and the US president – he left any initial  remarks to the Minister for Environment and Energy.

It wasn’t until later on 2 June that a lukewarm statement was delivered during a doorstop interview in Singapore aimed not at Trump but at his own political opponents at home :

Well the President's announcement is not a surprise. It was a very core campaign commitment of his - It is disappointing. We would prefer the United States to remain part of the agreement. We are committed to the Paris agreement. We are on track to meet our 2030 targets of a reduction in emissions by 26 to 28 per cent from 2005 levels. And, I should say we are doing well. Our emissions, whether measures against by head of population or by, against GDP are the lowest they've been for 27 years.

The important thing is to ensure that we maintain energy supplies that are affordable, that are reliable, secure and that we meet our emissions targets and we are on track to do just that. That's our commitment, our energy policy is grounded in economics and engineering. Not in ideology like the Labor Party’s.

That pause between Trump’s announcement and Turnbull’s response allowed the Liberal Party’s merry band of luddites enough airtime to show support for Trump’s position.

This group contained Senator for Tasmania Eric Abetz, Senator for Queensland Ian Macdonald, MP for Dawson (Qld) George Christensen and MP for Hughes (NSW) Craig Kelly. 

Which was probably what the hypocritical, pro-coal Member for Wentworth intended to happen all along

Something people in the electorates of these parliamentarians should perhaps keep in mind when they go to vote at the next federal election.

Climate Change: the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry

Permafrost and thick rock ensure that the seed samples will remain frozen even without power. The Vault is the ultimate insurance policy for the world’s food supply, offering options for future generations to overcome the challenges of climate change and population growth. It will secure, for centuries, millions of seeds representing every important crop variety available in the world today. It is the final back up.  [The Global Crop Diversity Trust, Svalbard Global Seed Vault, accessed 19 May 2016]

Svalbard Global Seed Vault entrance

http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1880843_1849071,00.html

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault (SGSV) is now in its ninth year of operation.

The Guardian, 19 May 2016:

It was designed as an impregnable deep-freeze to protect the world’s most precious seeds from any global disaster and ensure humanity’s food supply forever. But the Global Seed Vault, buried in a mountain deep inside the Arctic circle, has been breached after global warming produced extraordinary temperatures over the winter, sending meltwater gushing into the entrance tunnel.

The vault is on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen and contains almost a million packets of seeds, each a variety of an important food crop. When it was opened in 2008, the deep permafrost through which the vault was sunk was expected to provide “failsafe” protection against “the challenge of natural or man-made disasters”.

But soaring temperatures in the Arctic at the end of the world’s hottest ever recorded year led to melting and heavy rain, when light snow should have been falling. “It was not in our plans to think that the permafrost would not be there and that it would experience extreme weather like that,” said Hege Njaa Aschim, from the Norwegian government, which owns the vault…..

“A lot of water went into the start of the tunnel and then it froze to ice, so it was like a glacier when you went in,” she told the Guardian. Fortunately, the meltwater did not reach the vault itself, the ice has been hacked out, and the precious seeds remain safe for now at the required storage temperature of -18C.

But the breach has questioned the ability of the vault to survive as a lifeline for humanity if catastrophe strikes. “It was supposed to [operate] without the help of humans, but now we are watching the seed vault 24 hours a day,” Aschim said. “We must see what we can do to minimise all the risks and make sure the seed bank can take care of itself.”

The Nordic Genetic Resources Center (NordGen) is responsible for the daily management and operations of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and the 32 Australian genebanks containing over 1.8 million seeds which are held in this vault along with the seeds of over 4,000 plant species banked by other countries.

This is not the first time this global seed vault has had problems. In 2011 North Coast Voices noted that financial and operational problems were placing the long-tern viability of the vault at risk, including technical problems in 2010 to 2011 concerning construction and temperature control, as well as falling behind on scheduled routine tests for the seed collections and required regeneration to maintain the genebank collection of living seed samples.

Hopefully now that hubris has been publicly flattened by this flooding, the NorGen board of directors will go back to the contingency drawing board and fully re-work risk. After all NordGen noted that the permafrost was not fully re-establishing itself as early as 2008 - the year this vault was officially opened.

Annual Progress Reports

2008 SGSV Annual Progress Report

2009 SGSV Annual Progress Report

2010 SGSV Annual Progress Report

2011 SGSV Annual Progress Report

2012 SGSV Annual Progress Report

2013 SGSV Annual Progress Report

2014 SGSV Annual Progress Report

2015 SGSV Annual Progress Report

Natural Gas & Coal Seam Gas: A lesson in consequences for Australian federal and state governments

When gas mining went wrong on a large scale in America..........

LA Times, 6 January 2016:

Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday ordered new regulations, including stepped-up inspections and safety measures, for all natural gas storage facilities in California in response to the continuing leak that has displaced thousands of people in the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles.

The emergency regulations would require Southern California Gas Co. and other operators of gas storage facilities to conduct daily inspections of wellheads using infrared leak-detection technology, verify the mechanical integrity of wells, measure gas flow and pressure and regularly test safety valves, among other steps.

Each facility would also have to draft a risk management plan that would examine the corrosion potential of pipes and other safety threats.

The requirements are part of a series of orders issued by Brown as he declared a state of emergency stemming from a leaking well at SoCal Gas' storage facility in Aliso Canyon. For more than 10 weeks a damaged well has released large amounts of planet-warming methane and emitted sulfur-like odors that have sickened residents with nosebleeds, headaches and other symptoms.

Brown's action came after weeks of demands by residents, activists and local officials for the governor to intervene. In the proclamation, Brown cited the “prolonged and continuing duration of this natural gas leak and the request by residents and local officials for a declaration of emergency.”

The governor ordered state agencies to “utilize all necessary state personnel, equipment, and facilities to ensure a continuous and thorough response to this incident.” Unlike with most emergency proclamations, however, he did not suspend state laws, cut red tape or commit more resources or public funds to address the leak.

Brown contends that SoCal Gas should bear all related expenses from the leak. He tasked the California Public Utilities Commission with ensuring that the gas company “cover costs related to the natural gas leak and its response, while protecting ratepayers.”

Evan Westrup, a governor's spokesman, noted that the proclamation does allow the governor to waive state laws if necessary in the future.

The new regulations will apply to a dozen natural gas storage fields across nine counties, according to the state Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, which will issue the new rules.

Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Leak Preliminary Estimate of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (As of December 12, 2015):

When gas mining went wrong on a large scale in Australia……

ABC News, 10 August 2015:

A study commissioned by Queensland's environment department says an experimental plant operated by mining company Linc Energy at Chinchilla, west of Brisbane, is to blame and has already caused "irreversible" damage to strategic cropping land.

The department, which has launched a $6.5 million criminal prosecution of the company, alleges Linc is responsible for "gross interference" to the health and wellbeing of former workers at the plant as well as "serious environmental harm".

The 335-page experts' report, obtained by the ABC, has been disclosed to Linc but not to landholders.

It says gases released by Linc's activities at its underground coal gasification plant at Hopeland have caused the permanent acidification of the soil near the site.

Experts also found concentrations of hydrogen in the soil at explosive levels and abnormal amounts of methane, which they say is being artificially generated underground, over a wide area.

Other documents, released to the ABC by the magistrate in charge of the criminal case, show four departmental investigators were hospitalised with suspected gas poisoning during soil testing at the site in March.

"My nausea lasted for several hours. I was also informed by the treating doctor that my blood tests showed elevated carbon monoxide levels (above what was normal)," one of the investigators said.

High levels of cancer-causing benzene were detected at the site afterwards.

Earlier this year the State Government imposed an "excavation exclusion zone" on 314 square kilometres around the Linc facility where landholders are banned from digging any hole deeper than two metres.

ABC News, 10 June 2015:

The Queensland Government has widened its legal action against resources company Linc Energy over the alleged contamination of the environment by its underground gas plant on the Darling Downs in the state's south-east.

The Government has today filed a fifth charge of wilfully and unlawfully causing serious environmental harm against the company.

An investigation — the largest and most protracted in the history of the Queensland Environment Department — has found that Linc Energy's Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) plant at Hopeland caused irreversible damage "to more than one environmental receptor [which includes the atmosphere, vegetation, water and soil]".

UCG is a so-called "unconventional" means of extracting gas from coal seams that are too deep to mine.

Coal is burned in situ underground and the gas produced is siphoned off through wells.

The ABC has been told that external experts contracted by the department found "scientific evidence of [the plant's] operation above hydrostatic pressure, fracturing the landform, and excursion of contaminants"……

Queensland's Environment Minister Steven Miles is travelling to the western Darling Downs to meet with affected landholders and to explain what the latest charge means.

"This is probably the biggest investigation of its kind in Australian history, we've had upwards of 100 technical officers in Chinchilla monitoring sites and measuring this pollution, it's a very serious matter," he said.

"Our next biggest concern is the impact that this pollution could have on the livelihoods and on the wellbeing of the landholders in the area nearby Linc…..

Linc Energy Limited v Chief Executive, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection [2015] QLC 12 (1 April 2015) [100%]
(From Land Court of Queensland; 1 April 2015; 32 KB) 

Linc Energy Ltd v Chief Executive Administering the Environmental Protection Act 1994 & Anor [2014] QSC 172 (1 August 2014) [99%]
(From Supreme Court of Queensland; 1 August 2014; 54 KB) 

Linc Energy Ltd v Chief Executive Administering the Environmental Protection Act 1994 & Anor (No 2) [2014] QSC 182 (5 August 2014) [97%]
(From Supreme Court of Queensland; 5 August 2014; 7 KB)

Chief Executive Administering the Environmental Protection Act 1994 & Anor v Linc Energy Ltd [2015] QCA 197 (16 October 2015) [24%]
(From Supreme Court of Queensland - Court of Appeal; 16 October 2015; 74 KB)

Linc Energy Ltd v Chief Executive, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection [2015] QLC 42 (26 November 2015) [100%]
(From Land Court of Queensland; 26 November 2015; 27 KB) 

Dexon Group Holdings of Hong Kong exploring for gold and antimony in the Kyogle region

 

Dexon Group Holdings Ltd of Kowloon, Hong Kong, through Dexon Resources No. 3 Pty Ltd (directors Peter Blair, Gennadii Nedria and Mark Levey) has reportedly approached twelve land owners in the Kyogle district concerning one of its mineral exploration leases where it is said to be looking to eventually mine gold and antimony.

 

Dexon Group Holdings’ three associated companies registered in Australia hold mineral exploration licenses EL 7935, EL 7936 and EL 7398 in New South Wales.

 

Gold and antimony mining on the NSW North Coast has a history of environmental damage and catastrophic water pollution:

 

Estimates of sediment migration rates and amounts of Sb and As transported in suspension and solution imply that the catchment contamination will be long-term (centuries to millennia)

 

Antimony contamination, Urunga 2011

Scientists think a 5.7 earthquake was caused by mining wastewater being injected into underground 'compartments'

Population density

Aftershocks 5 -12 November

Click on images to enlarge

Geology,March 2013,Keranen et al,Potentially induced earthquakes in Oklahoma, USA: Links between wastewater injection and the 2011 Mw 5.7 earthquake sequence:

Abstract

Significant earthquakes are increasingly occurring within the continental interior of the United States, including five of moment magnitude (M_w) ≥ 5.0 in 2011 alone. Concurrently, the volume of fluid injected into the subsurface related to the production of unconventional resources continues to rise. Here we identify the largest earthquake potentially related to injection, an M_w 5.7 earthquake in November 2011 in Oklahoma. The earthquake was felt in at least 17 states and caused damage in the epicentral region. It occurred in a sequence, with 2 earthquakes of M_w 5.0 and a prolific sequence of aftershocks. We use the aftershocks to illuminate the faults that ruptured in the sequence, and show that the tip of the initial rupture plane is within ∼200 m of active injection wells and within ∼1 km of the surface; 30% of early aftershocks occur within the sedimentary section. Subsurface data indicate that fluid was injected into effectively sealed compartments, and we interpret that a net fluid volume increase after 18 yr of injection lowered effective stress on reservoir-bounding faults. Significantly, this case indicates that decades-long lags between the commencement of fluid injection and the onset of induced earthquakes are possible, and modifies our common criteria for fluid-induced events. The progressive rupture of three fault planes in this sequence suggests that stress changes from the initial rupture triggered the successive earthquakes, including one larger than the first.
Received 18 September 2012.
Revision received 23 January 2013.
Accepted 23 January 2013.

Mother Jones March/April 2013:

Such seismic activity isn't normal here. Between 1972 and 2008, the USGS recorded just a few earthquakes a year in Oklahoma. In 2008, there were more than a dozen; nearly 50 occurred in 2009. In 2010, the number exploded to more than 1,000. These so-called "earthquake swarms" are occurring in other places where the ground is not supposed to move. There have been abrupt upticks in both the size and frequency of quakes in Arkansas, Colorado, Ohio, and Texas. Scientists investigating these anomalies are coming to the same conclusion: The quakes are linked to injection wells. Into most of them goes wastewater from hydraulic fracking, while some, as those in Prague, are filled with leftover fluid from dewatering operations.

* Mapping images from United States Dept. of the Interior/US Geological Survey

Government attempts to downplay planning and structural deficiencies associated with antimony mining on the NSW North Coast

NSW North Coast Nationals MPs need to explain to their electorates why they continue to tolerate this ongoing threat to water security and, why they are considering a proposal to establish another antimony mine in the Nymboida River system:

ABC Mid North Coast News Macleay River spill sparks contamination fears  

November 29, 2011 14:41:35

There has been another heavy metal spill into the Macleay River from a gold and antimony mine in the upper catchment.

Heavy rain over the weekend caused an overflow from a stormwater dam at the Hillgrove mine near Armidale.

The Kempsey council's infrastructure manager, Robert Scott, says the contamination sounds worse than it actually is.

He says the rain caused the spill but it also helped dilute it.

"At the moment the dams in the Hillgrove mine, because they've received around about 290mm of rainfall for the month of November alone, are full, they are discharging," he said.

"We are seeing a massive dilution factor as a result of the overall flow that's coming off the New England Tablelands at the moment, which has resulted in relatively low levels of discharge directly from the mine."

However, conservationists are worried about the latest spill into the Upper Macleay.

Coffs Harbour Greens' councillor Mark Graham says the spill in the region's drinking water catchment should be grounds for concern.

"I think that all the evidence is that the river is contaminated by mining practices and it's not just the historic mining practices," he said.

"The owners of the Hillgrove mine, Straits Mining, were recently fined $50,000 in the Land and Environment Court for ongoing contamination to the headwaters of the Macleay.

"These mines are creating ongoing contamination for the catchment.

Deputy Leader of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives & MP for Cowper betrays the Clarence

From A Clarence Valley Protest on 26 September 2011:

Federal Nationals MP Luke Hartsuyker betrays the Clarence as he aligns himself with the China Shandong Jinshunda mining group

The Federal Nationals Member for Cowper, Luke Hartsuyker, well-known for his lukewarm support of the social, cultural, environmental and economic aspirations of local communities in his electorate, is now aligning himself with the Chinese multinational mining corporation China Shandong Jinshunda Group and its plans to create an antimony mine in an environmentally sensitive section of the Nymboida River catchment (part of the wider Clarence River catchment) which supplies drinking water to people living in the Coffs Harbour City Council and Clarence Valley Shire Council local government areas.

The Australian 21 September 2011:

PLANS by a Chinese company to start exploration drilling for rare earths and gold on the pristine Dorrigo Plateau in NSW has triggered community fears of contamination of the water catchment for Coffs Harbour and nearby Grafton.

Anchor Resources, 96 per cent-owned by the Shandong Jin Shunda Group, wants to start a $2.6 million drilling program around an old antimony mine at Wild Cattle Creek and a gold prospect at nearby Blicks River.

But many local residents fear the drilling is a precursor to the start of large-scale mining that would threaten the crucial Macleay catchment.

More than 100 concerned residents from Dorrigo and nearby Bellinger Valley attended a community meeting at the weekend to vent their concerns and learn more about the mining proposal.

Dorrigo Environment Watch spokeswoman Gwen Hanna said any full-scale mining operation posed unacceptable pollution risks in an area that lies close to the World Heritage listed Dorrigo National Park, a major tourist attraction.

The habitat of three endangered frogs – the Giant Barred, Stuttering and Pouched – lies within the proposed exploration area, Ms Hanna said.

"This area is in a unique environment and we're really concerned that if they do open cut, which they're proposing in addition to open shaft – it's going to be a really serious blot on the landscape," she said.

In addition to pollution fears, she said residents were worried about the prospect of ore-laden lorries travelling through Dorrigo to what would be the most likely processing facility at Hill Grove, near Armidale.

But local National Party member Luke Hartsuyker, the federal MP for Cowper, said any plans to resume mining on the plateau would create up to 60 jobs in a hard-pressed rural economy.

"This not an Olympic Dam," Mr Hartsuyker said referring to the South Australian mine site containing the world's largest known single deposit of uranium.

Antimony is used in the manufacture of fire retardants, plastics, medical applications and next generation computer memory drives. Demand for the metal is so strong, its price has rocketed from $4000 a tonne in 2006 to $16,000.

Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke told The Australian he was closely monitoring developments.

"If the company was to propose to mine following exploration, it is more likely federal powers would be triggered at that point," he said.

The Coffs Coast Advocate Letters to the Editor 24 September 2011:

Mining catastrophe

It is immensely concerning that the member for Cowper, Mr Luke Hartsuyker, has publicly stated that the 60 jobs that will potentially be created through the establishment of an antimony mine at Wild Cattle Creek by Anchor Resources and its owner, China Shandong Jinshunda, will be a good thing for our regional economy.

This is because the tourism industry down the Clarence River (rafting, fishing and swimming), the southern-most cane growing lands in Australia and the nationally renowned and highly valuable prawn fishery at the mouth of the Clarence River will all be heavily impacted should this mine proceed.

These major industries underpin the economy of our region.

Furthermore, our three-year-old regional water supply, in which Coffs Harbour and Clarence Valley Councils have invested approximately $200 million, faces a great risk because of the toxic antimony, arsenic and mercury known to exist within the ore body that China Shandong Jinshunda seeks to mine.

On March 31, 2009, approximately 900mm of rainfall fell on the mine site.

There is nothing that can be done to capture all run-off in such extreme rainfall events.

It is inevitable that the Clarence River will be polluted should this mine proceed.

At a meeting yesterday at Coffs Harbour City Council chambers, the managing director of Anchor Resources, Mr Ian Price, stated that the lifespan of the mine will be measured in years, not decades.

Please explain your reasoning for supporting this mine on economic grounds, Mr Hartsuyker?

Councillor Mark Graham

What is galling about Mr. Hartsuyker's support for this mining venture is the admitted short life of this mine and the small number of jobs it will create in the Coffs Harbour-Dorrigo area (a possible sixty jobs of less than ten years duration) when set beside the enduring environmental and health dangers it will leave behind for a significant portion of the Clarence River catchment area.

Especially since ongoing antimony contamination of water bodies and land protected by Environmental Planning Instruments is not unknown from previous mining ventures in northern NSW.

The Macleay Argus 2 September 2011:

HIGHER than average levels of heavy metals have been recorded in the Macleay River at Bellbrook after a dam overflowed at a gold and antimony mine near Armidale.

NSW Health and Kempsey Shire Council said higher than normal levels of metals including arsenic, zinc and copper had been detected in the waters of the Macleay River.

But both organisations said the concentration of the heavy metals was not high enough to warrant concern to people.

As a precaution NSW Health has contacted residents in the upper Macleay to inform them not to drink water from the river unless it has been processed through the Bellbrook water treatment plant.

Council has undertaken further testing to determine whether the contamination has spread beyond Bellbrook….

The Office of Heritage and Environment (OHE) reported the breach occurred on Tuesday when there was a release of material from a sediment erosion control dam at the Hillgrove antimony and gold mine.

"The mine is currently not operating but is in 'care and maintenance' mode," a spokeswoman said.

"The spill occurred after continued wet weather produced excess stormwater which exceeded the amount of water that could be stored in the dam resulting in the spill - when the mine is operating the stormwater would normally have been used for mineral processing."

NSW Office of Environment and Heritage Media Release 5 July 2010:

Straits (Hillgrove) Gold Pty Limited has been fined $50,000 and ordered to pay costs of $24,000 in the NSW Land and Environment Court today after being found guilty of polluting waters.

Straits pleaded guilty to the charge; pollution of water under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act.

The company 'Straits' conducts gold and antimony mining activities at the Hillgrove Mine, near Armidale in NSW.

In sentencing today, Justice Biscoe convicted and fined Straits $50,000 and ordered it to pay the prosecutor's legal costs of $24,000.

The court heard that in April 2009 a protective bund at the premises had been lowered to allow access for an electrical contractor. When a screening device used in the mine became blocked and 'slimes' discharged and spilled into the bunded area, it then overflowed the bund and discharged into the local environment.

The spill, of up to 3000 litres of 'slimes,' contained antimony, arsenic and lead and is toxic to some aquatic life.

Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW), Director General, Lisa Corbyn said the penalty provided a timely reminder to companies that they must ensure measures are in place to contain pollution.

"This case highlights the potential for serious damage to occur and highlights the importance of companies having safeguards and operating procedures in place to control pollution at all times. Carelessness meant that simple containment structures which could have prevented the spill from leaving the mine site were not in place. Fortunately the environmental harm from this particular spill was low.

"Importantly, the company did report the spill to the DECCW Environment Line and cooperated with the DECCW officers throughout the investigation."

Anyone who sees pollution is urged to contact the Environment line on 131 555.

Bellingen Shire Council State of the Environment Report 2009-2010:

Urunga antimony processing site

A seriously contaminated site has been identified at Urunga, Portions 138 & 169 Parish of Newry. Contamination also affects adjacent Crown Land and a SEPP 14 wetland. The site was previously used for antimony ore processing, since abandoned without rehabilitation of the site. DECCW have undertaken an investigation of the site and researched remediation options.

General

Council maintains records of properties known to be affected by contamination. Council must consider the requirements of the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 and State Environmental Planning Policy 55 – Remediation of Land in assessing proposed changes to the use of land.

Antimony and arsenic dispersion in the Macleay River catchment, New South Wales: a study of the environmental geochemical consequences February 2007:

A baseline geochemical study of stream sediments and waters of the Macleay River catchment in northeastern New South Wales indicates that although most of the catchment is unaffected by anthropogenic or natural inputs of heavy metals and metalloids, the Bakers Creek - trunk Macleay-floodplain system has been strongly affected by mining-derived Sb and As. The dispersion train from the Hillgrove Sb - Au mining area to the Pacific Ocean is over 300 km in length. Ore and mineralised altered rock from Hillgrove contains vein, breccia-hosted and disseminated stibnite, arsenopyrite, pyrite and traces of gold. Historic (pre-1970) mine-waste disposal practices have resulted in high to extreme contamination of stream sediments and waters by Sb and As for ∼50 km downstream, with high Au values in the sediments…..

Estimates of sediment migration rates and amounts of Sb and As transported in suspension and solution imply that the catchment contamination will be long-term (centuries to millennia) such that environmental effects need to be ascertained and management strategies implemented…

[Ashley, P. M.; Graham, B. P.; Tighe, M. K.; Wolfenden, B. J  in Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, Volume 54, Number 1, February 2007 , pp. 83-103(21)]

Water body in antimony contamination area Urunga 2011

Dorrigo Environment Watch has online links for further information concerning antimony and the NSW North Coast.

Some campaign slogans never die.........

This is the 2007 campaign slogan used in the Clarence Valley in the fight to stop the Howard-Turnbull-Vaile attempt to raid this catchment's fresh water.

What a pity that less than three years later this slogan is just as relevant, as once more the water raiders seek the ear of Federal Government touting the idea that the Clarence River should be dammed and diverted.

Of course the 2007 water raiders behind the Howard-Turnbull-Vaile push never really went away and their political sock puppets continued to agitate for more water over those years.

Never one to waste an opportunity 'independent' representative for Murray Darling Basin irrigators/farmers,Tony Windsor, has been beating the drum on interbasin water transfers whenever he found an opening.

This is Windsor on Thursday, 18 September 2008 at 3:16 pm according to Open Australia:

Tony Windsor (New England, Independent)
My question is to the Prime Minister and relates to comments made by the Prime Minister, senior ministers and scientists that a major part of the Murray-Darling crisis is caused by climate change. Could the Prime Minister quantify how many gigalitres of lost inflows in the Murray-Darling system are caused by climate change? Given Professor Garnaut’s admission that his recommendations of five or 10 per cent emission reduction targets by 2020 will not alleviate the Murray-Darling crisis, would the Prime Minister initiate a cost-benefit analysis of potential intercatchment transfers of water to cancel out the climate change components of the reduction in inflows?

As one can see, Windsor takes the basic MDB irrigator positions as he tries for a new way to sing the old refrain:

• less water in the system is always someone else's fault - this time it's climate change.
• the answer to river system decline is not to reduce the chronic over-allocation of Basin water resources - it's to take someone else's water.

Since then the Independent Member for New England has extended the 'not our fault' argument and, this was Mr. Windsor on 14 October 2010 explaining to the world that (most uniquely among humans) Basin irrigators don't contribute to man-made climate change:

Mr Windsor said the MDBA should not allow water to be taken away from irrigators on account of climate change, because they were not responsible for the problem.

No wonder Clarence Valley residents are brushing off that slogan and again saying loudly and clearly...........

NOT A DROP!

True face of 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill

People may suffer financially from British Petroleum's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico - now in its 60th day with the damaged well only temporarily capped - but the true face of this environmental disaster is found in images of the affected wildlife.....

Seal and seabird overwhelmed by oil June 2010

More photographs here.

Stop the world - I want to get off!

Ever wondered how we're all going to respond to an increasingly hostile physical world?
What path we'll go down as we confront the dire consequences of our own collective actions?
In the face of one monumental environmental disaster the only psychological defence left for some is laughter:

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – At a conference of oil leak experts in Washington today, attendees proposed plugging the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico with executives of BP, the company responsible for the catastrophic spill.

"We've tried containment domes, rubber tires, and even golf balls," said William Cathermeyer of the National Oil Leakage Institute, a leading consultancy in the field of oil leaks. "Now it's time to shove some BP executives down there and hope for the best."

Submerging the oil company executives thousands of feet below the ocean's surface could be a "win-win" situation, Mr. Cathermeyer said.

"Best-case scenario, they plug the leak," he said. "And at the very least, they'll shut the fuck up."

But even as the oil leak experts proposed their unorthodox solution, environmental expert Marilyn Sufranski warned of the possible negative consequences of plugging the oil leak with BP executives.

"The Gulf of Mexico is slimy enough already," she said.