HUME  COAL  MINE  PLANS:  ‘Playing  Russian  Roule/e  with  the  Southern  

Highlands’    

Presenta5on  to  Wingecarribee  Shire  Council  

 

Wednesday,  26  August  2015  by  Peter  Mar5n  

 ‘Lowest  impact  mining  system  in  the  

country’    •  ‘Zero  Subsidence’…and  surface  cracking  

•  Bores  will  lose  water  but  only  a  ‘temporary  impact’…Hume  will  ‘make  good’  

•  Negligible  dust  impacts  on  towns  •  No  issues  with  trains  &  traffic  •  Plenty  of  local  employment…400  construcDon  &  300  mining  jobs  

…and  there’s  more  

•  SubstanDal  Investment  $720m  plus  $300m  •  Significant  benefits  to  the  local  community  •  No  nasty  ‘mine  rejects’  piles…its  placed  underground  and  its  just  rock  

•  No  sound  and  light  issues  to  speak  of  •  No  impact  on  protected  species  like  the  koala  •  They’ll  rehabilitate  and  leave  it  the  way  it  was  before!  

 …Sounds  impressive  and  solves  all  the  issues!  

Humes’  Experimental  Mining  Process  

•  All  techniques  have  been  used…but  not  together!      •  No  evidence  of  ‘Pine  Feather’  use  in  similar  geology  •  They’ll  use  ‘adapDve  management’  as  they  go  •  35%  extracDon  promised  but  makes  no  economic  sense    •  No  menDon  of  intensive  surface  drilling  ahead  of  mine  •  Mining  close  to  water  filled  voids  an  unaddressed  mine  

safety  issue  •  ‘Zero  subsidence’  at  this  depth  defies  all  coal  mining  

evidence  

…This  is  high  risk  with  unknown  consequences  

Groundwater  level  drops    80  to  160  meters      

EXPLORATION  LICENCE  AREA  

AREA  POTENTIALLY    AFFECTED  BY  MINING  

We  predict  severe  Groundwater  impacts…  

HODDLESCROSS ROADS

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BERRIMA CEMENTWORKS

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GDA 1994 MGA Zone 56 Source: EMM (2015); Hume Coal (2015); LPI (2015)

Primary, secondary and supplementary Koala habitats

Figure 7

Hume Coal ProjectCommonwealth Referral

KEYPrimary Koala habitat in theSouth Coast Koala ManagementArea

Secondary Koala habitat in theSouth Coast Koala ManagementArea

Secondary and supplementaryKoala habitat in the CentralCoast Koala Management Areaand the South Coast KoalaManagement Area

Project area

Main road

Local road

Rail line

Watercourse

…  and  Hume  project  a  300  square  kilometer  impact  zone!  

Misleading,  or  a  classic  case  of  wishful  thinking?  

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Source: EMM (2015)

Geological cross-section: during mining

Figure 8

Hume Coal ProjectCommonwealth Referral

Figure 8 depicts a conceptual geological cross section through the former Berrima Colliery and the proposed Hume Coal Mine (during mining). Historic coal extraction at Berrima Colliery is shown in red, while proposed extraction at Hume isshown in red dashes. The groundwater table is shown as a blue dashed line with saturated areas overlaid with blue hatching. Estimated zones of mining induced desaturation are depicted in grey above both the Berrima Colliery and theproposed Hume Coal Mine.

Wastewater  and  ‘Mine  Rejects’  plans  highly  ques5onable  

•  Coal  mine  ‘rejects’  contain  heavy  metals,  salts,  toxins  and  potenDally  radioisotopes  

•  Untreated  mine  water  is  similarly  polluted  •  Re-­‐injecDng  ‘mine  rejects’  could  pollute  the  groundwater  and  create  a  health  hazard  

•  Wastewater  discharge  to  streams  likely  to  happen  due  to    mine  water  volumes  

•  PotenDal  hazard  for  Sydney’s  drinking  water    …Very  serious  environmental  and  health  concerns  

 

And  how  do  the  other  claims  stack  up?  

•  Subsidence…The  evidence  is  there  and  it’s  not  good  •  Dust,  Noise  &  Light…A  case  of  dodgy  data  •  Trains  &  Traffic…Serious  logisDcal  and  social  issues  •  Jobs…Good  for  experienced  mining  hands,  but  what  about  

locals?  •  Social  and  Economic  Impacts…significant  issues  not  

addressed  •  Landowners  above  the  mine…’Make-­‐good’  claims  laughable  •  Flora  and  Fauna…highly  dependent  on  water  drawdown  •  Project  Economics…So  bad  why  bother?    

…a  complete  house  of  cards  

Playing  ‘Russian  Roule`e’  with  the  Southern  Highlands  

•  Humes’  plans  are  not  supported  by  the  evidence  •  Damage  to  the  Groundwater  is  potenDally  catastrophic    •  ‘Local  jobs’  claims  are  illusionary  •  CumulaDve  project  risks  are  unacceptable  •  The  project  makes  no  economic  sense    •  Costs  to  landowners,  affected  towns  and  the  broader  SH  community  are  high  

 

...Why  do  it?  

Questions Please!