Bowdens Silver

I am certainly a person who loves the area that I live in and regularly drive along the picturesque Lue Road to and from Mudgee. I believe that the Bowden business is strongly committed to minimising their impact to Lue area and removing all environmental and health risks. We now live in a new era of mining and mining governance which will ensure that impacts of this important operation are controlled with continual monitoring and reporting.
Please accept this submission and the comments as support for the project.

This will offer employment to the community for a considerable period of time. This mine has the potential to yield a substantial quantity of silver

The submission has been removed from publication due to potentially defamatory content, however the Department in assessing and making any recommendations in relation to this development application will take into consideration such of the submission that is of relevance.

Council has reviewed our original submission, in light of the response to submissions. Please find the attached notes which identify the issues that have been resolved, those that remain outstanding and those that can be managed with relevant conditions.
We acknowledge that the original EIS included an assessment of the impacts of the relocated transmission infrastructure. We note that the local residents of Lue have raised concerns regarding the visual impacts of the relocated line, and these concerns should be considered by the department as part of the overall project.

Re Hydrogen Cyanide Volume

Firstly, in the interests of transparency, I was the project manager for preparation of the DFS for the Bowdens Silver Project and continue to provide consultancy services to them.
Through my involvement with the project, I have become aware of some community concern regarding various aspects of the project. Whilst I believe that the EIS addresses all those concerns, it may be useful for the Department to consider the Waihi Gold Mine in New Zealand, (https://www.waihigold.co.nz/) where I was Mine Superintendent from the commencement of modern mining in 1987 until 1993.
The current era of mining at Waihi commenced with the development of the Martha Mine open pit, the construction of a processing plant approximately 1.6 km east-south-east of the mine and a tailings storage facility (TSF) approximately 1.0 km further ESE of the processing plant on the east side of the Ohinemuri River.
As can be seen from the attached photographs, the Martha Mine lies within the town of Waihi, with the towns principal shopping precinct, Seddon Street lying within 70 m of the pit perimeter at its closest point and most of the towns retail outlets, pub’s and café’s lying within a 350 m radius of the pit perimeter.
The Martha Mine is connected to the processing plant and TSF via a conveyor. Crushing takes place at the mine site on a campaign basis, with waste rock being crushed for most of the time and ore for a lesser period. The conveyor belt runs in a trench beneath two roads and via a tunnel through Union Hill. Ore is discharged via a stacking conveyor that is moved into the material stream when ore is being conveyed and withdrawn during the conveying of waste rock. The waste rock continues onto the TSF where it is used to construct an integrated waste landform (IWL) that contains structural zones to contain the tailings, as well as general waste dumping zones, with provision for encapsulation zones for waste rock that may be acid producing.
When the mine recommenced in 1987, the anticipated mine life was approximately 13 years, however, ongoing exploration, including the discovery of a number of deposits that are or have been mined by underground methods, as well as changes in economics has allowed the continuation of mining to the present day.
Throughout its 33-year history, the mine has had to manage many of the same issues that have been raised as concerns regarding the development of Bowdens. Blast vibration, noise, dust, mine traffic, mud on roads, water table impacts, water quality (the mine discharges water to the Ohinemuri River) and of course the use of cyanide.
That management has required a strong commitment to monitoring, analysis of the results and adaptation of operating procedures where monitoring indicates it is necessary. The various owners of the mine have maintained an open dialogue with the community, responding promptly to complaints when made and providing updates on the project’s activities. It is an exemplar of what can be achieved with a project so close to a community.
For me, the key take away from my experiences in New Zealand is that, if Waihi Gold can successfully operate a mining project for 33 years in compliance with its conditions, in a location that is in such close proximity to a community. It is reasonable to believe that Bowdens would be able to operate its mine, without adverse impact on the community of Lue, which is significantly more distant from the mine than the town of Waihi is from the Martha Mine.
I have also attached a copy of Martha Matters, which again illustrates the proximity of the Martha Mine to the town, but also shows how the company keeps the community informed of activities within the mine.

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.

As a former teacher at Lue Public school and a long term member of the local community of Lue and the Mudgee surrounds I am putting forward my concerns for the development of the Silver Mine at Bowdens. The impacts of this mine will not only affect the Local Lue community which is a strong, thriving and close community, but the greater community of Mudgee. I would like to highlight a few areas of concern.
Firstly to title the mine as a Silver mine is quite deceptive when LEAD will also be extracted from this mine in larger quantities than Silver. Should this not be titled a Lead and Silver Mine? While many of the community members in Lue are aware of the Silver mine also extracting Lead greater awareness should be put forward to the local Mudgee Community on the rates of lead extraction from this mine as it will severely impact the local ecosystems and also has the potential to impact the waterways which in turn would impact the booming agriculture businesses and our biggest tourism sector being the wineries. If Lead was to get into the water systems and flow through the waterways in the Mudgee Local community and impact the large amount of wineries this would be devastating for the town which relies on this tourism to support the town.
The local school of Lue Public school is a vital service for students. While some may say that it is not far to get to Mudgee to attend school and there is a bus, the school services a unique community and benefits children who have particular needs that are not met in the larger schools. Many students who attend this school actually travel from surrounding communities to get there because of the unique service it provides that these particular students may miss out on or be swallowed within the ‘system’ and not achieve their full potential. Many students that attend this school receive more one-on-on support and students who may have been targeted as ‘misbehaving’ or ‘behind’ in larger schools have a much better school experience. Misbehaviour can often develop because a student has trouble reading or learning, where students at Lue due to the amount of support they can receive learn to read and write and become happy and positive students where some of these students may have not succeed in this in larger schools. Students have attended Lue and changed their behaviours and made academic improvements. The school also is able to foster unique activities such as looking after a garden, chooks and has local connections to local businesses for learning such as the new Bonsia shop. If the lead was to increase at a school like Lue Public school it would be required to be shut down. This would be a devastating loss to the community and to the unique students who access this school.
The surrounding areas of Bowdens proposed Mine site has many Aboriginal Heritage sites the damage that could be caused to these sites will be a great loss to a culture that has already had ongoing sufferings from land takings.
Koalas are an endangered species and have been located in this area. This has not been presented accurately in the EIS.
Finally on a personal note, I, like many have lived and grown up in this community. I am now 32 and lived there for the majority of my lifetime. The property itself hold special memories it is both a land that is engrained in me as a person and I would hope I would, and my children in the future be part of this special land. The property that my parents reside on, where I grew up and now where I am a partial owner is not just a property to us but a place that holds deep connection and this land is also part of me, who I am. It is a place that should be passed down through my family. I am just one person in many people who have lived here and have had this special place become a part of yourself. To destroy this land would by taking something away from us all that we would never get back. I do not believe that the EIS has provided adequate information nor has it highlighted the fact that people may have to re-locate due to this mine due to safety and what this will mean for the local community.

Bowdens Silver project. My name is Alan Jameson I who’d like make a submission about this mine . I live on the mudgee side of Lue that means all the trucks will pass my property my house is about 160 mts from the road. We are on the down side of a Hill and in a 100 klm sped zone So the trucks use their compression brakes going downhill the noise is very bad now we are both 75 years old , we have to be very careful getting out of our driveway now , it may be impossible with so many extra trucks doing 100 klm pr hour downhill We know. This concern means nothing to you but We are very concerned. About the quality of the rest of our life here in. Lue. thanking you for allowing me to Put in this Submission. Alan Jameson.

Please find attached my objection to the project as a former professional expert (CSIRO) on heavy metal pollution from heavy metal mines. The EIS is scientifically inadequate in regard to these issues.
Dr Haydn Washington

Dear Sir/Madam,
I wish to convey my full support for the Bowdens Silver Project and believe it has the very real potential to be a project of state and national significance.
If it proceeds, and is developed to its full potential, it will create many well paid jobs locally with associated spin off economic benefits, as well as significant revenue streams through royalties for the NSW Govt and people of the region/state.
I have been an Australian resources investor for many years and have been a shareholder of Silver Mines Ltd since 2016. I believe there is a very significant silver resource at Bowdens, which is globally quite rare due to it being the primary metal in ground. Most mined silver comes from copper/gold/zinc deposits and there are few pure silver mines in the world. Approximately 80% are in Mexico.
If the deposits are as large as I believe they are one could expect significant revenue to be generated over the life of mine, especially as the spot silver price is going to go up substantially in coming years, for a multitude of reasons.

Regards,

Mark Brown

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