Bligh Government chases bauxite mining mirage

Media Release
The Wilderness Society (Qld) Inc.
5 July 2011

The Wilderness Society today criticised the Queensland Government for continuing to push for a massive new bauxite mine near Aurukun on Cape York Peninsula, despite a litany of failures to get a mine operational in the region. This follows confirmation that the Chinese firm Chalco has lost its right to build a mine in the area, and that the Queensland Government will once again put the mining lease out to international tender.

Lyndon Schneiders, National Campaign Director for The Wilderness Society said, "This bauxite mine is one big mirage. The bauxite is low-grade and the economics don’t stack up. Yet the Queensland Government continues to spruik it like a shonky used-car dealer. It’s time the mining lease was terminated and the region protected for its incredible natural and cultural values."

"The worst thing about this is that the Queensland Government is auctioning away one of Australia’s most intact and beautiful areas, country belonging to the Wik people, for destruction and offshore profits."

The original bauxite lease was issued to French mining company Pechiney in 1975 by the Bjelke Petersen Government. For the next 28 years, the lease remained dormant. In 2003, the Queensland Government moved to re-issue the mining lease to encourage the exploitation of the bauxite. In 2006, the Queensland Government gave Chinese giant, Chalco, the right to develop the lease. Last week, the Queensland Government stripped Chalco of the development rights.

Mr Schneiders said a mine in the area would wipe out stunning native eucalyptus forests and wildlife habitat for the rare Palm Cockatoo and endangered Red Goshawk.

"Bauxite mining is one of the most destructive forms of mining in the world. The process involves completely bulldozing vast areas of native forest, piling up the carnage and burning it, before digging out up to ten metres of the ground layer to ship away for off-site processing. The result is environmental annihilation, with forests and wildlife habitat incinerated, and local water flows significantly altered. The damage is so great that restoration of the site after mining is always a complete failure."

The Wilderness Society is urging the Queensland Government to terminate the mining lease once and for all, and instead invest their time and resources in working with the Wik community to build a sustainable economy for their homelands and for Cape York Peninsula.

Instead of following the old path of destructive industrial development, the Queensland Government should be ramping up their efforts in the new economic path based on environmental sustainability, including local jobs and enterprises through environmental services, land and natural resources management, tourism and Indigenous Ranger programs, and moving towards a World Heritage listing as part of a comprehensive sustainable development plan for the region.

Media Enquiries: Lyndon Schneiders, National Campaign Director, 0451 633 200