Mining

28 October 2005

EIS submissions close - McArthur River mine proposal another Mt Todd in the making.

Xstrata’s proposed McArthur River Mine Open Cut Project could well end up becoming another long-lasting environmental disaster for the Top End, the Environment Centre NT (ECNT) said today, and should not receive the go-ahead from the NT Government.

The mine proposal would involve re-routing the McArthur River over a 5.5 kilometre stretch, and digging a pit over 200 metres deep, 1.4 kilometres long and 750 metres wide, right in the riverbed.

The company will also have to deal with 185 million tonnes of waste rock, a significant proportion of which could lead to an ongoing acid mine drainage problem similar to what is happening at the abandoned Mt Todd gold mine, as well as 23 million cubic metres of tailings containing toxic materials such as arsenic, lead, zinc and manganese.

Freshwater Campaigner Dr Gary Scott said, “ECNT has been reviewing the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the open cut project and has found it to be fundamentally flawed. To cite just a few examples:

• There has been little or no research conducted to date on the ecological impacts of heavy metal pollution downstream of the mine.
• The company proposes to contain the potentially acid forming waste rock in a clay cover, but is still unsure about whether the clay will leak or not.
• Ground water management is a significant problem for the mine as the open pit will have to be continuously dewatered, yet the company still does not know exactly where the ground water channels are located.
• There are threatened species of fauna that are likely to be harmed by this proposal, including the Freshwater Sawfish and the Purple-crowned Fairy-wren. Unsubstantiated claims are made by the company that there will be no significant impacts on these species.

Further information and comment:
Charles Roche: 8941 7439
Email: ecntdaly@iinet.net.au

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