The war between miners and farmers rages on after the NSW Farmers’ Association openly opposed further release of land to the industry that they say is damaging the environment. They called on the NSW Department of Primary Industries to put a halt to the new prospecting areas ballot, commencing on June 26, until these concerns have been adequately addressed.
NSW Farmers’ Association Conservation and Resource Management Committee Chair Louise Burge said it was imperative the Government addressed the existing concerns of landholders before they allowed any further opal prospecting to take place.
“The association believes that the NSW Government may have failed to ensure that opal miners conduct their operations responsibly,” Ms Burge said.
“Under current legislation governing opal prospecting licences, miners are required to prevent or minimise adverse environmental impacts and ensure the land disturbed by prospecting activities is appropriately rehabilitated.
“But it appears that this is not occurring in currently operating opal prospecting areas, with unrehabilitated open mine shafts and waste dumps causing environmental and occupational health and safety hazards.
“This poses the unresolved issues of potential legal liabilities, and the lack of enforcement on miners to rehabilitate mineral claims to modern day standards.
“In addition, rusting equipment and abandoned miners’ vehicles have been left as eyesores on private land.
“The association has been working with the Government to address these concerns, but to date no resolution has been found, with arrangements for opal mining being completely inadequate.
“As such, we are calling for the Government to not proceed with the ballot until these matters have been resolved,” Ms Burge concluded. Manager of the Lightning Ridge Miners’ Association, Maxine O’Brien, confronted these statements stating that access to new lands was the lifeblood of any mining industry and to block it is totally unreasonable.
“The Farmers’ Association has listed potential legal liabilities as a concern but farmers are protected by a strong indemnified clause under the mining act,” Mrs O’Brien said.
“Miners pay a levy to rehabilitate the land and are even paying $700 in security bonds, which is ensuring that the majority of people conduct their work responsibly and I think it is good that they are paying to keep up the standard.’’
While the battle continues for progress on either front the Department of Lands is stuck between the two holding all the cards but unable to please everybody.
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