Bowdens Silver

I had lived in the Rylstone, Kandos and Mudgee area for many years, jobs were scarce this lead me to moving away to find jobs, I believe this would benefit the many towns and bring a lot of jobs online for the many communities around the surrounding area. Please consider going ahead with this mine project as a beneficial one for the communities in the area and family's that may also be in struggle for work within the area.

Kind regards
Garry

SILVER MINING in the Central West Region
The Bowdens Silver Project is a huge opportunity for the regional communities of the Central West region where the investment and jobs that will be generated by this project are desperately needed.
We need the Bowdens Silver Project to be approved to secure jobs and investment for local communities. Most of the workforce will live locally and contribute directly to the region’s community.
The Bowdens Silver Project has the support of the local community, local MPs, local Council and local businesses.
Our metal mining industry supplies the metals needed for products that we use every day such as mobile phones, batteries, cars, solar panels and televisions. Silver is the best electrical conductor of all the metals.
Mining is important to me and my family, our community and NSW.
The project will provide 320 jobs during construction and permanent full-time employment for 228 people during the project’s operation across the 16 year projected mine life.
The federal government’s tables of multiplier effects shows that more than three times as many indirect jobs are created for every person directly employed in a mine.
Mining provides Australia’s most valuable exports.
The state of NSW will benefit from royalties by approval for this project. This is money that NSW will be able to spend on our hospitals, schools, emergency services and roads.
Our national, state and local economies rely heavily on mining, so mining benefits all Australians.

NSW needs to focus on the positive aspects of mining and its many benefits so as to not be distracted by ideologically driven anti-mining activists.
We should all be proud of what mining is doing and can do in future for Australia, NSW and the Central West Region.
The reports submitted for the Bowdens Silver Project demonstrates its comprehensive coverage of all environmental issues. The benefits from the commencement of this silver mine are immense.

For all of these reasons I fully support the Bowdens Silver Project.

Bowdens Silver mining project in the Mid-West Region
The Bowdens Silver Project is a huge opportunity for the regional communities of the Mid- West region where the investment and jobs that will be generated by this project are desperately needed.
We need the Bowdens Silver Project to be approved to secure jobs and investment for local communities. Most of the workforce will live locally and contribute directly to the region’s community.
The Bowdens Silver Project has the support of the local community, local MPs, local Council and local businesses.
Our metal mining industry supplies the metals needed for products that we use every day such as mobile phones, batteries, cars, solar panels and televisions. Silver is the best electrical conductor of all the metals.
Mining is important to me and my family, our community and NSW.
The project will provide 320 jobs during construction and permanent full-time employment for 228 people during the project’s operation across the 16 year projected mine life.
The federal government’s tables of multiplier effects shows that more than three times as many indirect jobs are created for every person directly employed in a mine.
Mining provides Australia’s most valuable exports.
The state of NSW will benefit from royalties by approval for this project. This is money that NSW will be able to spend on our hospitals, schools, emergency services and roads.
Our national, state and local economies rely heavily on mining, so mining benefits all Australians.
NSW needs to focus on the positive aspects of mining and its many benefits so as to not be distracted by ideologically driven anti-mining activists.
We should all be proud of what mining is doing and can do in future for Australia, NSW and the Mid-West Region.
The reports submitted for the Bowdens Silver Project demonstrates its comprehensive coverage of all environmental issues. The benefits from the commencement of this silver mine are immense.
For all of these reasons I fully support the Bowdens Silver Project.

I fully support the projects as it will provide many jobs especially in this tough time. It will also allow for an economic boost for the state and will increase the infrastructure of the area

On behalf of Breathalyser Sales & Service Pty Ltd, we fully support this project for the following reasons:
1. The mine is expected to generate significant economic activity over a 16 year mine life
2. During construction, the project will create 320 jobs - with a further 228 full time positions once operational
3. Most of the workforce will live locally and contribute to the region’s community
4. My company employs 10 staff that assist to supply mining operations in NSW with some of their safety needs
5. Mining is good for NSW and the country in this COVID brought on economic recession

As Manager of the Lue Hotel, I am pleased to provide this submission on behalf of Lue Hotel and Leisure Pty Ltd who operate the Lue Hotel.

In late 2019, the Hotel went through a change of ownership. Prior to this change, the Hotel had been in complete disarray with the business on the market for about two years. This ownership change effectively saved the Hotel and if the Hotel had been forced to close it would have been a terrible outcome for the township of Lue.

Since taking over, we have spent a considerable amount of time and money in undertaking a range of repairs to the Hotel including upgrades to the bar, kitchen, restaurant and accommodation areas. In the very near future, we will be looking to open a café in one of the Hotel’s buildings as well as having the facility to sell grocery essentials locally. This is something the locals have expressed a great interest in and I believe is sorely needed in Lue.

All of our staff are new, we have a fabulous new chef and all of us are from the local district. We are excited about the opportunities the Hotel presents going forward. However, being a very small town and being the only retail business in the village we rely almost exclusively on the success of the town.

The Hotel already experiences benefits from Bowdens Silver with members of their team often frequenting and supporting our business.

The development of the Bowdens Silver project will certainly bring much needed business to the Hotel. With 230 new local and highly paid jobs created we hope there will be a proportion that will be living in close proximity to the Hotel. Our café will certainly get strong support from the Bowdens workers on a day-to-day basis. This support and economic benefit will enable the Hotel to continue to increase its offerings and services to the local community. The Hotel is not just a hotel. It is the hub and heart of this community.

We strongly support the Bowdens Silver development. It is extremely important for the viability of the town and our enterprise.

By way of disclosure, a director of Bowdens Silver is a part owner in the Hotel.

To whom it may concern,
The Bowdens Silver Project is a world class silver project located in NSW. It is yet to be developed and currently offers a mine life of 16.5 year.
Projects such as these have a huge positive impact on the lives of those who are fortunate enough to be employed by the mine as well as all those local businesses that benefit from the increased revenue that the employment brings.
The value added to an area per acre by a project such as The Bowdens Silver Project far exceeds most other primary industry land usage. That is the number of jobs per square meter and revenue generated per square meter of land being occupied or disturbed is comparatively very high. For this reason alone, this is a very important project for NSW.
The development of the mine will also encourage further investment across NSW.
Silver Mines have a reputation as a reputable company in the exploration and mining industry and as such I have no doubt that the company has the best interests of the community and the environment in mind when considering the development of this project.
Based on the factors mentioned above, I 100% support the development of the Bowdens Silver Project.
Kind Regards
Andrew Sloot

.

The EIS is a comprehensive and favourable analysis on the Bowden's silver project which will serve the locals, NSW and Australia's national interest for self sufficiency, ethical mining and leading the world in renewables .

Silver is a critical component in solar panels, and generally a 'Tech' metal which , globally is going to enter a substantial shortfall in the coming years due to a decade of poor pricing, lack of investment in new mines and resource depletion. Australia is in a highly favourable position to benefit from the wholesale uptake of renewables as the world moves to electric vehicles, solar generation and energy storage solutions.

Australia is also in a position where it needs to take hold of and get behind projects like Bowden's Silver and drive Australia's economic recovery in a post Covid-19 environment.

I wholly support the project and look forward to seeing this come to fruition.

The EIS is a comprehensive and favourable analysis on the Bowden's silver project which will serve the locals, NSW and Australia's national interest for self sufficiency, ethical mining and leading the world in renewables .

Silver is a critical component in solar panels, and generally a 'Tech' metal which , globally is going to enter a substantial shortfall in the coming years due to a decade of poor pricing, lack of investment in new mines and resource depletion. Australia is in a highly favourable position to benefit from the wholesale uptake of renewables as the world moves to electric vehicles, solar generation and energy storage solutions.

Australia is also in a position where it needs to take hold of and get behind projects like Bowden's Silver and drive Australia's economic recovery in a post Covid-19 environment.

I wholly support the project and look forward to seeing this come to fruition.

I first moved to the village of Lue when I was very young. I recently moved back because I love the peace, quiet and community spirit found here. My home is set on 5 acres where I am raising my family, keeping my pets and growing my veggies. A simple, peaceful lifestyle not readily found these days unless you move to remote areas. It is less than 2km from the proposed Bowden's Silver mine and I am extremely worried that my idyllic lifestyle is about to be shattered. Consequently I am opposed to the project for the following reasons.
*Noise.
The single biggest factor that I required when I was choosing a location to live, was quiet. Laying in on a Sunday morning all I can hear are birds. No traffic noise, no social noise, no explosions, nothing. I will not get to enjoy this pleasure if this mine goes ahead as it is a 24/7 operation and not very far away. Sleeping at all is of great concern to me as I am a light sleeper. Trucks moving through our village at all hours every single day of the week. No thank you!
*Property Value.
I am very concerned that the value of my property will plummet in the future because Lue will become an undesirable place to live because of all the issues that will come with living near an open cut mine that produces pollution of many kinds including lead dust, noise, constant vibration from blasting and trucks constantly coming and going.
*Water.
We currently use tank water in our house for drinking, showering and cooking, and have a bore for water for the horse and dogs to drink, and to water my vegetables, lawn, trees and plants. The mine is going to produce lots of dust that will be contaminated with lead. This will end up on my roof, then in my tanks and in my gardens. I do not wish to ingest lead in even the minutest amounts. I strive for a healthy lifestyle and cannot control what will end up in my body if this mine is allowed to proceed. That does not seem fair to me at all.
My bore water is beautiful. I happily drink it if I am outside working on a hot day. My horse and my gardens love it. I am immensely concerned that my bore will dry up because the mine is going to severely deplete the water table. Again, this seems incredibly unfair to me. Just because we are little doesn't mean we don't have rights. The water table should be protected to ensure its viability for future generations.
*Other.
While my main concerns are listed above, I am also concerned about the lack of proposed regeneration of the area, the poison that will affect the immediate area including cyanide usage in the plant and acid runoff , the increased truck presence on our roads which will cause damage and increase accidents, the danger to wildlife and the division of a really great little community that comes together and helps each other out.
Please, please, please do not allow this mine to go ahead. It will change the lives and livelihood's of many people in the area, and the negatives greatly out weight the positives.
Thank you for your time.

Excellent project for local area and Environmentally responsible.

I support the Bowdens Silver project for the reasons set out below.
1. The mining industry is an important element of the diversified economy on which the Mudgee (Mid-Western) region relies. The region's renowned prosperity is largely due to the significantly diversified economy. The approval of a silver mine would create even more diversity in the regional economy due to silver's importance as an essential component of solar power production, complementing the region's other mining operations which produce fossil fuels.
2. The silver to be produced at Bowdens Silver mine would be used in renewable energy generation, thereby directly contributing to the reduction of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.
3. All aspects of the Bowdens Silver operation would be regulated by world's best statutory regulatory regime and environmental and safety standards.
4. The Bowdens Silver operation would generate high quality, long term, safe employment which will be an important underpinning to local prosperity, contrasting with the seasonal, lower paid, less safe and less secure employment often associated with rural and hospitality industry jobs.
5. The Bowdens Silver project would create employment opportunities close to the town of Kandos which currently has high unemployment and associated disadvantage, due to the recent closure of industries which had historically been major local employers. This would enable local youth to remain within local communities instead of having to move away to find work.

As until recently a long term Mudgee resident I am extremely concerned about a proposed development application by Bowdens Silver, who have applied to the NSW Department of Planning to build an open-cut SILVER, LEAD & ZINC mine 2 kms from the beautiful, village of Lue which has 192 residents, many weekend and holiday visitors and a thriving primary school.
This mine will use a lot of water. Bowdens will take groundwater from the Lawson Creek catchment, 5 megalitres every day. 5ML per day is not available in the Lawson Creek catchment.
The water table at the mine pit will drop by 25 meters. Many of the springs and bores in the area will cease to operate.
 There will be a tailings dam to hold the poisonous by-products which include ARSENIC, CADMIUM, CYANIDE and LEAD. This enormous tailings dam is planned to be located less than 1 KM from Lawsons Creek. It will be there FOREVER. Tailings dams breach under extreme weather conditions. As water is one of our country’s most valuable resources the risk of contamination is too great. Surely we all recognise this by now?
 Extracted rock will be processed on site. CYANIDE will be used to process the crushed rock. The remaining acid forming rock is also toxic. Bowdens are proposing to wrap this acid forming rock in plastic and leave it on site FOREVER. This has not been done before. It does not sound safe or environmentally responsible.
 Our landscape is fragile. We can’t afford to damage it with such a dangerous project.
As Lue is part of the beautiful Mudgee area, renowned for a long time for it’s prime agricultural land and natural beauty, which attracts visitors all year round, I implore the NSW Department of Planning to decline permission for this mine to proceed. I hope when evaluating this application common sense prevails and thoughtful consideration is given to long term future of the land, water and community.

This is the type of development needed to kickstart the economy after the coronavirus shutdown.
Mining is underpinning the Australian economy during coronavirus and i fully support this project going in development

I live in the village of Lue, 2km from the proposed Bowden's silver/lead/zinc mine, with my partner and 2 children. We have been here for the past 2 years and enjoy the quiet, peaceful, rural lifestyle. We grow our own veggies and have animals as pets. We also catch our own rainwater for drinking and household use.

I object to the Bowden's Mine project for the following reasons:

* Changes to the Underground Water Table.
I believe our water bore will be affected immensely. In the recent drought that lasted for a couple of years, we relied heavily on the bore to supply our water for our domestic purposes, water for the horse and vegetable garden. Water is the lifeblood of the country, we cannot survive without it. I am very concerned that the mine will both deplete the water table and that runoff of chemicals and contaminates will leech into it, rendering it useless for those of us who live close by.

*Dust.
Contaminated dust settling on our roof and all over our vegetable gardens and lawns. We need, and have a right to, clean uncontaminated household water. 2km is too close. No lead dust is acceptable or safe.

*Noise.
I do shift work and my sleep is precious to me. I live in Lue to enjoy the peace and quiet. At the moment I only hear the odd truck going through the village, but an increase in heavy traffic and mining noise is not acceptable.

*Property Value.
I sincerely believe that property values in Lue will severely decline. We will end up paying off a mortgage for a house that will loose value as no one will want to buy a home that is only 2km from a noisy, toxic, dust producing mine.

*Rehabilitation.
Another concern I have is with the lack of rehabilitation by the mine. Piles of toxic waste and dirt will be left to be eroded in storms and runoff into the local creeks and waterways. Apparently it will be unviable for Bowden's to fill in the finished pit. In this day and age how is it acceptable to leave an open mining pit with no re-hab or ongoing monitoring? They will come in, rape the land of its minerals and walk away.

*Increased Traffic.
An increase in truck traffic between LUE and MUDGEE will be dangerous. All the ore from Bowden's mine has to be transported by road. This is a school bus route and a tricky road to drive at the best of times with narrow bridges, bad corners, narrow carriageways and frequent wild life hazards including roos, wombats, goats, foxes etc. There is no room for error. Who will be responsible if a family is run off the road by a mining truck and, heaven forbid, someone is killed?

We have a great little community here in LUE. We help each other out when needed, whether it be helping to fix a fence if a tree falls on it, or fundraising with a cricket day to help out a family with a child in need. This mine is already dividing our community. Good communities are the fabric of Australian Society. Do we want to lose that? NO!
Please consider the little people. We will still be here left to deal with the mess long after Bowden's have gone. Is Lead and Zinc really that essential in todays world that it is worth ruining the lives of an entire village and community? All for a quick buck for a small, inexperienced mining company that will just cut and run.
Thank you for the opportunity to express my views and have a say.

Please see the attached document.

The project will deliver substantial economic benefits to the local area. The EIS confirms sound environmental and social outcomes.

I am in full support of this project and believe it will bring great benefits to the local community

I fully support the project, it will provide employment and stability to the local area, impacting on several small towns and villages, giving them much needed support and boosting the economy of the area for future generations.