|
Mining
in the Hills
| What’s
happening?
The northern jarrah forest of Western Australia
is covered to a large extent by a mineral lease granted to Alcoa World Alumina
Australia (Alcoa) in 1961. The area extends from north of the Great Eastern Highway,
Mundaring to south of Collie and from Lake C.Y O’Connor in the west to Chidlow
in the east. (See map) Alcoa
commenced operations in the jarrah forest of Western Australia in 1963. There
are currently 2 bauxite mines, Huntly (Pinjarra) and Willowdale, between Waroona
and Yarloop. Individual mine pits range in size from 5-50 hectares and on average
ore depth is 4-5 metres.
The Company anticipates a 100-year life span
for the viable bauxite reserves in their lease agreement.
(Source: John
Gardner and Geoff Stoneman Bauxite
Mining and Conservation of the Jarrah Forest in South-West Australia
- paper presented to the World Conservation Union and International Council for
Mining and Metals. Gland, Switzerland 2004).
Worsley Alumina Pty. Ltd.
has a mineral lease the same size as Alcoa’s and adjoining it on the eastern
boundary.
The Helena National Park, Mundaring Shire is bisected by the
“Alcoa Access Corridor”. This corridor would be required for a service
road and conveyor belt to transfer bauxite ore from a mine to a processing plant.
The area in question lies 8kms.to the east of Mundaring Weir, within a Priority
1 Water Catchment area. | 
(click for larger
image)
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How
did this happen?
As
a result of signing the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA), Alcoa relinquished
their right to mine areas of state forest that fell within the proposed Helena
National Park. In order that they could maintain access to areas of the mining
lease located north of what is now the Helena National Park, Alcoa sought and
was given approval by the State Government to retain what is referred to as the
“Alcoa Access Corridor”. Top
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What
has been done about this?
In February
2004 the Hills Forest Alliance wrote
to Alcoa requesting that the Company relinquish the “Access Corridor”
in order that the land could be added to the National Park to form one continuous
reserve. It was considered, by the Hills Forest Alliance, that a divided park
was inconsistent with the concept of continuity of land capable of sustaining
a diverse ecosystem and functioning as a wildlife corridor.
In a letter
from Alcoa, May 2004, J. Gardner (Environmental Manager, Mining) stated that
from the Company’s point of view - “…the proposed Helena National
Park more or less dissects Alcoa’s mineral lease from west to east and hence
potentially cuts off effective access to future ore reserves to the north….
Alcoa considers that a balanced compromise has been reached that satisfies the
objective of effective wild life conservation”.
The areas referred
to “…..contain substantial bauxite reserves. Alcoa is therefore unlikely
to support relinquishing this commercially valuable bauxite and agreeing to these
areas being added to the formal reserve estate”. Top
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When is mining likely to occur in the Mundaring forest?
No one can be certain as to when
this is likely to happen. The timeframe is not important. What is important
is that it never happens – EVER! Alcoa’s
State Agreement is due to expire in 2045 - and Worsley’s in 2046. Top
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What
impact will mining have on this area? - Clear
felling, which will take place 2 years in advance of mining.
(Source
ibid: Gardner
and Stoneman p.7) -
This activity is the beginning of the destruction of the ecosystem.
-
There is no proof that it is possible to restore the biodiversity of an
ecosystem after mining has taken place. After, say, 50 years, will the
total ecosystem, which took millions of years to develop, be restored to pre-mining
condition?
- Dieback
disease. Risk areas surround the Helena National Park.
-
The ore is mined from large pits. Their size depends on the extent
of the ore body, further degrading the land.
-
Roads will be required to be built to accommodate the movement
of trucks and heavy machinery.
-
The ore needs to be processed by a crusher before being transferred
to a conveyor belt.
-
The conveyor belt will go from the mine site through how much
forest..... to where?
-
Mining and processing take place 24 hours per day, with consequent
high noise and dust levels plus light pollution.
-
Soil contamination can result from the use of chemicals.
- Mining
uses vast amounts of water with consequent changes to water levels
already under threat.
-
Negative impacts on the health of both the local community and animals. (ABC’s
Four Corners programme “Something
in the air” 3-10-05)
-
Social disruption of communities - both human and the native
fauna
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| Clear
felling prior to mining at the Alcoa Huntley Site - Feb 2004 (click for larger
images) |
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Rehabilitation
- Western
Australia is home to considerable species of flora and fauna that are
unique within the global population. Many are rare, found in isolated
pockets of suitable habitat.
-
In the world of plants, for the continuance of some of the flora, intimate
relationships between certain insects and specific plants are vital for
the existence of both. In Western Australia there are many interdependencies,
some known and some unknown, existing for the continuance of specialized
animal and plant communities. Mining causes a greater disturbance than
the flora and fauna can contend with. Destroy the habitat - destroy the species!
-
Although some native species and ecological communities may recover
once the mining process has been completed, the recovery may be slow, especially
if drought conditions prevail, resulting in the extinction of sensitive species
of flora and fauna.
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What
can I do? - Keep
a keen eye on the Indicative Timber Harvest Plans
put out annually by the Forest
Products Commission. Coupes within the Alcoa mining lease will be
advertised for logging (clear felling?) 2 years prior to mining. (Source
ibid: Gardner
and Stoneman p.7)
- Distribute
this information through the local community by talking to relatives, neighbours,
friends and work mates.
- Contact
the following to register your concerns:
• Local Member for Parliament,
Jaye Radisich MLA Swan Hills
• Minister for the Environment and Science,
Judy Edwards MLA
• Minister for Energy and Development, Alan Carpenter
MLA
• Write to local media outlets - Buy
a car sticker – place it on the back window
driver’s side
- Keep
up-to-date by visiting this site, new information will be added when available
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