McPhillamys Gold Project

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Please find attached a scanned copy of my objection to the proposed gold mine at Kings Plains near Blayney NSW

Regards,

Gemma

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My name is Vicki Lockwood and I am the owner of 2319 Mitchell Hwy VITTORIA NSW 2799 which is located just 3km north of the proposed McPhillamys Mine and I write this submission as an objection to the proposed Regis Resources McPhillamys Gold Mine at Kings Plains. Firstly could I say that your submission page on the website is not at all user friendly I have started this several times and found that I could not save and continue at a later date.
I was born in this area and have lived here all my life; my children are fifth generation farmers in this region.
This period of submission has caused me much anxiety and has affected my mental health severely. Having just 42 days to submit this is not just. The amount of reading in the Environmental Impact Study is just way too much and way to hard for me as I am not a scientist or a highly educated person. This document would take me at least six months to read and comprehend. (more anxiety)
In June 2017 my husband Grant passed away from melanoma, I am just starting to cope what with dealing his estate and having to restructure my personal and business life. I am now the managing director of Goldfield Honey Australia Pty Ltd, Goldfields Honey, Bee and Pollination Services Pty Ltd and The Beekeepers Inn (all separate submissions which I will be doing)
I am the mother of four children all of which work in the family business along with my daughter and son-in-law. I am also the grandmother of five under the age of six years who I care for on a regular basis some of who have been sick with a virus during this submission time, the four month old baby hospitalized last week.
During this submission time I celebrated my 60th birthday which I could not enjoy as I was constantly having to think or deal with these Submissions. I have had to cut short a birthday holiday which was given to me in order to come home to complete this. I have not been able to book any holidays this year and I will not be able to book for next year as I will have to await the outcome of this. I have even had to postphone house renovations which where planned for end of October, now not being able to be done until the new year. I still have to work and run businesses in these awful drought conditions.
Due to this proposed gold mine I cannot even organize a succession plan for my children let alone plan my retirement. My children are young in there 20’s and 30’s and want to expand and grow the business their father started but it looks like all this is on hold while decisions are made. I find this extremely unfair.
This stress is just from myself it has the direct on flow effect to my 4 children there husbands and wives and their children, this is just my family, I hate to think the effects on all the other families that are affected by this mine.
My other concerns are the environment and the destructions that this proposed mine will cause, the knocking down of trees that are hundreds of years old, the loss of habitat for insects, birds, kangaroos, koalas, frogs(Just to name a few) , the loss of prime grazing/farming land, the destruction of natural water springs, the permanent change to landscape. If you can dig a hole that big shouldn’t you fill it in? I can’t even believe that this mine would even be considered at the headwater to a river. OUR WATER IS PRECIOUS. This is an environmental nightmare. Adding saltwater to the environment, a pipeline bringing water that has been rejected already, more destruction. There is even aboriginal sites to be destroyed, they should be left at peace.

The community, how could you destroy the community and cause rifts between normally a peaceful place. The people of Kings Plains deserve more respect, this is there home, this is there roots, this is there lives, this is them, they should not have to fight for their basic rights, don’t take their pride and there passion away from them. They have worked hard for their homes.

I could keep writing but I must write three more objective submissions.
The environment must be preserved for our future generations.
Vicki Lockwood

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I am objecting to the proposed Gold mine by McPhillamys Gold (SSD-9505)
This mine, if it goes ahead, will destroy prime agricultural grazing land for a short term profit with very little benefit to the surrounding community. It will create an intergenerational legacy of toxic waste, permanently altered hydrology and a river forever denied of its spring sources.
As stated in its proposal the mine has a working life of 10 to 15 years, during which they have stated that this will generate a lousy 20 local jobs. How many jobs will be lost in enterprises that rely on agriculture and horticulture along the river and in enterprises that will be impacted by the dust and pollution, such as apiarists?
The damage to the landscape however will last for centuries. For example, on page 172, paragraph 9.5.2, the pit lake after they have finished with the mine, will remain as a sink for surrounding groundwater for approximately 400 years! This water will be toxic and unusable, and they state that the flow of water into the lake will be permanent, forever changing the landscape well beyond the mine’s boundaries.
A huge 600acre surface area tailings dam, built to the lowest possible cost, will be placed in the headwaters of the Belubula River. This river relies on the springs they propose to bury for it to flow, even in the worst drought in living memory, happening right now. This tailings dam will be largely unlined, and as tailings dams fail worldwide (and locally at Cadia in Orange), the potential for this polluted water to impact the Carcour dam and the Lachlan River system is very real.
In addition to this toxic soup will be the brine and waste water from Lithgow, which they are proposing to pump 80 kms to the mine site. They will use this water for dust control, further polluting the soil and the river. There is no way they can keep this pollution, dust and potentially asbestos restricted to the mine site.

The mine proposes to harvest 100% of surface water and the contents and recharge of 19 bores in order to extract gold for their profit.

This is simply not sustainable, nor is it fair that surrounding land holders with so much less impact on the environment are only allowed to harvest 10% of their surface run off.

Surely in this day and age, when regional towns are running out of water and water for food production is so scarce, this appalling overallocation of water and complete disregard for water and river users downstream has got to be disallowed.

This mine will devastate the environment and the water, with very little community benefit and the government has to step up to the plate and reject this proposal, and realise that our water and land to grow food is more important than a multinational mining gold for its shareholders.

This proposal will change the groundwater and surface water in the surrounding areas permanently. The proponent will be storing vast amounts of contaminated water on site that is going to leech into the groundwater over time, and the pit lake will act as a permanent sink for surrounding water. This is unacceptable, and a pollution legacy that will span generations.
There is a real risk of exposing asbestos during operations, which has been downplayed in the proponents proposal, when government mapping points to the site being high risk.
There is very short term gain for the company and a very long term pain for the environment and the community.
It’s not sustainable and should be rejected.

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