DEUA Valley dwellers are “delighted”, “thrilled” and “incredibly relieved” over news this week Unity Mining has withdrawn its application to process gold with cyanide at Majors Creek.
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Deua Rivercare spokeswoman Alison Walsh said the fight had
united the community.
“Things like this are good because we worked together for the common good, rather than just allowing
corporations to have their way, at the cost of the community,” she said.
“We are thankful to the many
people who took time to express their concerns, and protect our catchment, by writing submissions and attending rallies.”
Ms Walsh said the community would continue to keep a close watch on the mine.
She said residents were concerned about the proposed larger size and “inadequate” lining of the tailings storage dam and acid leachate.
“Those concerns still exist, even without the use of cyanide,” she said.
“We are concerned the company has a poor track record in honouring their promises, and there is still plenty of scope for negative environmental impacts in the construction, operational and closure phases of the project.
“We are hopeful that if the mine does proceed, that the tailings dam will be the smaller dam originally proposed, and Unity will take into account concerns around acid leachate and upgrade the design accordingly.”
Ms Walsh said residents also wanted clear and well-developed strategies for prevention and management of potential failures.
“We don’t trust that company at all and we opposed the initial approval for the mine – we still feel there are a lot of issues, but this acutely dangerous issue is at least off the table for now,” she said.
“Considering the risks, versus the benefits, of the project we would ideally like to see a move from extractive industry to high-tech, clean, future-focused reclamation and recycling industries to meet the demand for gold.”