Expansion work at NT zinc project halted

An international mining giant has been forced to stop the expansion of its zinc project in the Northern Territory after a court found the process the territory government used to approve it was invalid.

The legal victory by Aboriginal traditional owners in the NT Supreme Court has also thrown into doubt the future of up to 400 employers and contractors working on the development.

Swiss company Xstrata, owner of McArthur River Mine, late last year gained NT government approval to transform its operation from an underground to open-cut mine by diverting a Gulf of Carpentaria river by 5.5 kilometres.

But Justice David Angel on Monday upheld a challenge by the Northern Land Council (NLC), which had argued the NT mines minister failed to follow proper procedures under the Mines Management Act.

It was a decision hailed by opponents as a win for both traditional owners and the environment.

But it meant the company, which has already completed up to 15 per cent of work on the controversial expansion, had to suspend its operations.

“I believe that at seven o’clock last night they shut down or discontinued the mining operations on the area for new development and the diversion associated with the river,” a McArthur River Mining (MRM) spokesman confirmed.

He said MRM was still producing at its underground mine, but was not able to confirm whether the company was pursuing legal avenues.

NT Minister for Mines Chris Natt on Tuesday said the government was receiving detailed legal advice on the court’s findings.

“This decision is based on a technical issue surrounding the initial application form lodged for the McArthur River Mine site in 2002,” he said in a statement.

He said the court had made no findings on the environmental assessment process or consultation with traditional owners or the general community.

Opposition Mines spokeswoman Fay Miller said the government’s error “looks like incompetence”.

“The question is how did this mistake get through an entire department?” she said, adding that 1,700 direct and indirect jobs had now been put at risk and some $13 billion worth of economic benefits over the next 25 years jeopardised.

McArthur River Mining (MRM) first applied in March last year to expand the mine - which contains three per cent of the world’s zinc deposits - claiming an underground mine was no longer viable.

It argued an open-cut mine was the only way to secure the future of the operation, and would extend its life by 25 years.

When the NT government originally rejected its first proposal, MRM threatened to close the mine, prompting regional businesses to launch an advertising blitz to try to change the government’s mind.

Prime Minister John Howard also threw his support behind the expansion, saying it would contribute to the overall wealth of Australia.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Expansion-work-at-NT-zinc-project-halted/2007/05/01/1177788130581.html

Land council taking minister to court

This article from the Australian provides a good background on the two legal cases.

ONE of Australia’s most influential Aboriginal land councils is taking legal action against former federal environment minister Ian Campbell over the expansion of the Northern Territory’s largest zinc mine. The Northern Land Council (NLC) already has mounted a legal challenge against the Northern Territory government in the NT Supreme Court on behalf of traditional Aboriginal landowners.

It claims the Government should not have approved an application by Swiss mining company Xstrata to divert the McArthur River, near the Gulf of Carpentaria, by 5.5km.

The $110 million expansion is part of a project by Xstrata subsidiary McArthur River Mining (MRM) to turn the operation from underground to open cut mining.

Fresh legal action is now being taken by the NLC against Senator Campbell, who signed off on the project after the NT Government’s approval in October last year.

The group lodged an application in the Federal Court last week, claiming Senator Campbell – who now holds the human services portfolio – failed to follow proper process under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

It also alleges his decision did not take into account how the mine would affect freshwater sawfish populations and the local environment. “Procedures that were required by law to be observed in connection with the making of the decision were not observed,” the application said.

The grounds of the NLC challenge against the Territory Government include a failure to follow relevant procedures under the Mines Management Act, a failure to provide local Aboriginals with natural justice and a failure to consider the impacts on the environment.

MRM first applied to expand the mine in March, but the NT Government sent it back to the drawing board to deal with environmental concerns.

The company made a number of concessions, including funding an independent environmental monitoring process and providing $32 million for a Community Benefits Package. It also has to pay a $55.5 million security bond for the first year of development. The bond will be increased to reflect the higher potential environmental impact when the river is finally diverted in 2008.

The McArthur River mine was first approved in 1993 and was the first major mining development following the the High Court’s 1992 Mabo decision recognising native title.

A hearing for the matter against Senator Campbell has been set down for March 13 in the Federal Court. A spokesman for Senator Campbell said he was unable to comment on the matter while it was before the courts.

By Tara Ravens

 http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21275438-1702,00.html

NT Govt probe (hide?) cases of flesh-eating disease

This is a significant public and environmental health issue. Can we expect an appropriate response or has Xstrata already convinced the NT Government that an unprofitable mine is more important than human and environmental health.

I have lots of questions, can anyone answer them? Clare, John…

If this was known last year why didn’t the NT Government or Xstrata release the information as part of the mining assessment? Granted it may have been in the public domain, but shouldn’t we be able to rely on our own Government to be transparent?

Did Clare Martin know about this, if so, why wasn’t an investigation commenced last year?

Did Senator Campbell know about this before he approved the mine?

Is this how John Howard defines ’environmentally sustainable fashion’? 

Will it affect the aquatic organisms in the river and the Gulf of Carpentaria?

What do you think?
(from the ABC, again) The Northern Territory’s chief health officer says further research will be conducted into a potential link between flesh-eating bacteria and high zinc levels in the McArthur River.

The Northern Territory Department of Health says four people in six years have been killed by a rare bacteria infection in the Gulf of Carpentaria region.

An article in a British medical journal published last year draws a potential link between high levels of zinc in the McArthur River and an increase in the vibrio flesh-eating bacteria.

Chief health officer Tarun Weeramanthri says after the Department received the report last year, signs were put up in the area to warn people of the danger.

“There are sporadic cases year to year which are to be expected in terms of the number of severe cases of this involving skin and soft tissue infection and blood infection that was of particular concern to us when we were made aware of it,” he said.

McArthur River Mining general manager Brian Hearne has put out a statement saying the article is highly speculative about the role heavy metals in the water may play in the infections.

Mr Hearne says the article contains some factual inaccuracies that have been addressed with the authors and publishers.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1860221.htm

Traditional owners take mine expansion plans to Federal Court

A story from the ABC, Friday 23rd Feb 2007.

The traditional owners from McArthur River on the Gulf of Carpentaria have launched a Federal Court challenge to the former federal environment minister’s approval of expansion plans for the local zinc mine.

Former environment minister Ian Campbell cleared the way in October last year for Xstrata to divert the McArthur River for 5.5 kilometres to allow it to convert its zinc mine to open cut.

Mr Campbell approved the move under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

Now the traditional owners are challenging that decision, saying Mr Campbell did not have all the information he needed when he approved the diversion.

They say a report he should have also considered showed there was not enough information about how the mine would affect fresh water sawfish populations and the local environment.

The traditional owners have already started action in the Northern Territory Supreme Court against the Martin Government’s decision to approve the diversion.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200702/s1854845.htm

Traditional Owners challenge mining approval under EPBC Act

The Traditional Owners from McArthur River (Yanyuwa, Mara, Garrawa and Gurdanji) have initiated another legal challenge against the approval to mine and divert the McArthur River. The new action is being taken in the Federal Court and challenges the decision by the Commonwealth Environment Minister to approve the mine under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC).

This a gutsy move by the Traditional Owners. In challenging the Commonwealth Government they are effectively challenging the Prime Minister, John Howard, who gave his personal approval for the mine before the decision was made by his Minister. Supposedly the Minister  was unswayed by the strong and vocal support by the Prime Minister for Xstrata’a mine expansion, but personally I have my doubts.

In making his decision the Senator Campbell relied on the Northern Territory Governments assessment (see the criticisms of the proposal by the NT EPA body), a process that was flawed, politicised and highly irregular. In making his decision Senator Campbell stated “I am satisfied that the proposed changes to the mine will not have a significant impact on matters of national environmental significance”. This fits neatly with the Prime Minister’s comments on the 4th October 2006, when he referred to the mine as a national issue. Clearly the Howard Government sees Xstrata’s mine as nationally significant, but regards the McArthur River as having no national environmental significance. Compare that to the PM’s latest 10 billion dollar water plan for the south and it sounds like hypocrisy.

The details of the approval are sketchy, mainly because the assement was done using the Mine Management Plan which Xstrata and the NT Government are refusing to release to the public. For more information (links) see the Environment Ministers media release, the approval under the EPBC Act the conditions imposed and the statement of reasons for the decision.

At the moment details of the challenge are not available but stay tuned…