Mine sites a toxic problem in Queensland

Kerrie Sinclair

An inquiry into illegal toxic waste disposal in Queensland has heard that toxic fallout from mine sites continues across the state and many more sites are going unmonitored. The Criminal Justice Commission inquiry also heard the mines department is refusing to take seriously the advice of its own enviromental officers in some cases.

The senior environmental officer for the state Minerals and Energy Department, Peter Curley, told the inquiry that inspections as late as March show that many environmental problems highlighted in a report 3 years ago still exist and rehabilitation was in some cases non-existent.

Mr Curley listed several examples of toxic waste mismanagement and cases where mine operators were not adopting government environmental policy. For example, at Mount Leyshon gold mine, 24 km south of Charters Towers, acid waste meant downstream water users would face a risk of cyanide poisoning for some time. At Warroo gold mine near Inglewood, south-west of Brisbane, tests 3 months ago revealed a cyanide leak 200 times the acceptable level and a high risk of further discharges. And at MIM mine at Mount Isa, toxic seepage and run-off is affecting the Leichhardt River because of the company's 'minimalist' management practices and the lack of department resources to tackle the problem. In a statement made later, MIM said its waste water control program ensured that all liquid waste was contained on lease sites.

Mr Curley told the inquiry that problems at mine sites were compounded by the department using mine companies' submitted 'paperwork responses to environmental policy as a judge of progress instead of making actual inspections Mr Curley said the department in some cases did not take seriously the advice of its environmental officers and limited resources meant inspectors were forced into a reactive role of following up complaints from residents Ongoing monitoring of sites was mostly controlled by the mining companies themselves

Queensland Minerals and Energy Minister Tony McGrady said the emphasis on responsible management of the mining industry had been greatly increased in recent times. 'I believe the environmental processes of the departrnent are now second to none in the nation, largely due to implementation of the govemment's environmental management policy,' he said. The minister said no-one had ever claimed the mining industry had a perfect record with environmental practices but he believed there was a general commitment to responsible management.

However, senior mines department environment officer John Bywater said it would be at least 2-3 years before it could be assured that the vast majority of companies were complying with environmental policy. Mr Bywater, the Department of Minerals and Energy minerals division management branch environmental manager, said a new plan of spot checks had been introduced but so far only two companies out of 1200 across Queensland had been subject to random inspections.

Reproduced from Search: Science and Technology in Australia and New Zealand with permission from Control Publications (Melbourne, Australia).

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