Another gold mining company exploring within the Clarence River catchment in 2012
RENISON CONSOLIDATED MINES (formerly known as Sirocco Resources NL, Kakadu Resources Ltd, Gerrod Ltd and Avillion No 4 Ltd) a Brisbane-based corporation first registered in 1986 and primarily involved in gold and coal exploration, has been granted an exploration license in the Timbarra Plateau region on the NSW North Coast.
According to the Colong Foundation for Wilderness:
The plateau is detached from the Great Dividing Range, apart from a narrow connecting ridge in the north, and has hence been able to provide a significant refuge for wildlife from human impacts and feral predation. The plateau falls away steeply into the valleys of the Timbarra River and Demon Creek.
The area is a biodiversity hot spot. In the forests of the western sector of the nominated area, 29 endangered species are known to occur. These include: mammals (Hastings River Mouse, Yellow-bellied Glider, Tiger Quoll, Rufous Bettong, Golden-tipped Bat, Greater Broad-nosed Bat and Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby); birds (Glossy Black Cockatoo, Powerful Owl and Sooty Owl); and amphibians (Stuttering Frog, Glandular Frog and recently discovered Peppered Frog). The wilderness contains a major overlap of biogoegraphic zones, with faunal representations of coastal, inland, temperate and sub tropical regions converging. The area is the only single site able to provide key habitat for the threatened Hastings River Mouse, Eastern Chestnut Mouse and Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby.
The 98 blocks in this license surround the old Timbarra Gold Mine which was permanently closed in 2001-02 due to persistent cyanide contamination from mine tailing dams which overflowed after rain.
The licence also covers part of the Timbarra River catchment which falls within the larger Clarence River Catchment Area.
In 2011 the Clarence River catchment supplied fresh water to an estimated 52,816 residents living in the Clarence Valley local government area and, to another 73, 296 residents in the Coffs Harbour local government area which is located outside the catchment and historically is provided with a significant measure of water security by the Clarence Valley [Clarence Valley Council,Clarence Valley Economic Monitor,June 2012 and Coffs Harbour City Council,Community Profile,June 2011].
Rennison’s current chair, Stephen Grant Bissell, is also a director of Bizzell Capital Partners, Renaissance Uranium, Armour Energy Ltd, Titan Energy Services Ltd, Dart Energy, Diversa Ltd, Stanmore Coal, Hot Rock Ltd, Bow Energy, Celamin Limited, Apollo Gas Limited, a former director of Arrow Energy and a member of the Queensland Coal Seam Gas forum.
Labels: Clarence River, Dorrigo Plateau, mining, Timbarra River, water wars
posted by Judith M. Melville at
4:33 am
2 Comments:
Hi I built the Timbarra Gold Mines infrastruture , I can speak with absolute knowledge of site . I can state that the Timbarra Gold Mine operating in your suggested time frame . DID NOT HAVE A TAILINGS DAM !! and did not ever have an overflow of ANY contaminates from site and IN FACT won a Environmental award and is a credit to its ( then )workers
"It is worrying that a substance as toxic as cyanide could enter any ecosystem. It is an extremely toxic substance. As an occupational health practitioner, I know that any use of it industrially is extremely dangerous. It is used in mining because of the solubility of gold ore. The ore is broken up mechanically, cyanide is poured onto the ore, and the solution of cyanide and dissolved gold is then collected in what is called a pregnant pond — pregnant because the cyanide in that pond has gold in it. A process then strips the gold from the solution, and the cyanide is diverted to another pond, generally known as a barren pond because it does not have any gold in it.....Timbarra supposedly was built on world's best practice. It had not only a pregnant and a barren pond but a bund beyond that—in other words, another dam in case there were any barren pond containment problems....About 18 months after we had been assured by the Minister that it was a wonderful mine, employing world's best practice, but it had just happened to be quarantined, and the area had rains that were heavier than expected....The heavier rains led to an overflow of all the Timbarra dams." [NSW LC Hansard, 9 November 2004]
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