WATER MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD

7 November 2013

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Di Clark for Blicks River Guardians 
WATER MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD

Blicks River Guardians have launched their new website www.blicksriverguardians.org to tell of their love for the Dorrigo Plateau and their pledge to protect it from inappropriate land use. At stake is a clean water supply for communities from Sawtell to Yamba, a clean environment for the flora and fauna of this area and a place for our children and grandchildren to use in a sustainable way. We thank Alan Morden, art director and consultant from Byron Bay, for the donation of his time and expertise in website design.  We also thank local photographers for allowing us to use their beautiful photographs and videos (see Acknowledgements on the website).

The major potential threats to the Blicks River at present are active mineral exploration leases near Tyringham and Dundurrabin operated by Scorpio Resources Pty Ltd, a full subsidiary company of Anchor Resources.  Diamond drilling has recommenced in the area and will consist of up to 8 holes for approximately 2,000m.  Anchor is currently exploring in this area for large intrusion-related gold systems.

In last week’s Don Dorrigo Gazette there was an article on the history of antimony mining at Wild Cattle Creek. This area too is being explored by Anchor Resources. The movement of surface water dropping from the Plateau to lower river systems may contribute to cumulative impacts downstream. Historically the processing of antimony and other minerals has had a negative impact on areas such as Urunga.

Blicks River Guardians are a sub-group of Dorrigo Environment Watch www.dorrigoenvironmentwatch.org.au; together we hope to enable a well-informed public to express the beauty and timelessness of this area and protect it for future generations. We invite visitors to our website to make comments, download petition pages for signatures, suggest ways they can help and to advise us if they want to be added to our mailing list.

Dorrigo Environment Watch recently held an information session on the NSW Government Strategic Regional Land Use Policy to advise landholders of recent developments. “Prime Agricultural Land” on the Dorrigo plateau was vastly underestimated due to restrictive criteria such as the slope of the land. One look at those rolling hills, lush from high summer rainfall grown on the famous Dorrigo soil, would tell anyone that their zoning criteria are inadequate.  If these maps are used for mining exclusion areas then they are not good enough.

Visit our websites and join in celebrating this beautiful area – water is more precious than gold (or antimony!).

Anchor Resources extends its mining exploration footprint within the Clarence River catchment area

Chinese-owned mining exploration company Anchor Resources Limited has extended its mineral tenements within the Dorrigo Plateau-Clarence River catchment area.

In June 2013 the NSW O’Farrell Coalition Government granted a further three-year exploration lease EL 8100 which connects those gold and antimony tenements the company has already extensively explored. 

This increased footprint comes with an increased risk of antimony, arsenic, and/or mercury contamination in a sensitive section of the catchment should the proposed commercial mines come to fruition.

Australian Government National Pollutant Inventory:

Both mercury and its compounds have high acute(short-term) and have high chronic (long-term) toxicity on aquatic life. Eating fish contaminated with mercury has caused poisoning in humans; birds and land animals exposed in the same manner could also be subject to the same effects.There is not sufficient data to determine the acute toxicity of mercury and its compounds on plants, birds or land animals. Mercury and its compounds are highly persistent in water and the environment and will bioaccumulate or concentrate in the tissues of fish. These concentrations will be considerably higher than the water from which the fish is taken.

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.

ELA 4513 (1992) 28-Mar-2012 98 UNITS About 51km WSW of GRAFTON RENISON CONSOLIDATED MINES NL Group: GROUP 1

Click on map to enlarge

Clarence River catchment under threat from greedy miners endorsed by NSW O'Farrell Government

Coffs Coast Independent 12 July 2012:

ACCORDING to the Mid North Coast Greens, five mining exploration licences cover the headwaters of the Orara and the Nymboida Rivers - which are the drinking water catchments for approximately 150,000 people between Yamba and Sawtell.

"Minerals known to occur in the ore bodies being targeted include mercury, antimony, arsenic and lead. All are highly toxic minerals that pose a great contamination risk to the water supply for the region," the MNC Greens said in a statement......

"The Dorrigo Plateau is renowned as the highest rainfall district in NSW. From Ulong and Lowanna to Dundurrabin these headwaters provide most of the flow to the mighty Clarence River," Dr Sally Townley, mayoral candidate for Coffs Harbour City Council said.

"These catchments not only supply drinking water, they are the lifeblood of the tourism industry, the fishing industry and the cane industry. In the tourism industry alone there are more than 3500 permanent jobs completely dependent upon the health of the Clarence River." ......

"Mineral exploration leases and exploration activities occurring across the catchments pose a real and present danger of mercury and lead contamination if urgent action is not taken," Dr Kaye said.

"The catchment is already carrying the legacy of a history of inappropriate mining at Wild Cattle Creek. The entire Macleay River is heavily contaminated with arsenic and antimony from mining at Hillgrove east of Armidale.

"Contamination is a one way street. Once heavy metals have poisoned a supply, it is almost impossible to protect the health of future users.

"The Dorrigo Plateau must be declared off-limits to mining and mineral exploration." ......