Bowdens Silver

I am writing to object to the proposed development. As a long term resident of the Mid Western Council area, I recognise the profound impact a mine of this nature will have on both the natural environment and the social fabric of the immediate area. My main concerns are as follows:

Lue is a village of about 50 homes and surrounded by about 90 small and larger farms, B&Bs, vineyards, the olive grove and other tourist businesses. 26 kms from Mudgee, 20 kms from Rylstone and 10kms from Windamere Dam.
Lue is less than 2 kms from the mine site.
The mine is open cut, 52ha in size and is in fact a lead mine with lead and zinc making up 99.5% and 0 .5% of silver.
Lead is poisonous and there are no safe levels of lead exposure. It is especially dangerous if exposed to young children.
The lead dust could travel great distances, hundreds of kilometres or further if the wind is in the right direction. Think of the dust storms we experienced in Sydney during the drought, but you won’t see this lead dust, its too fine.
They plan to mine and process 24/7.
The noise will be incredible, blasting, processing, mining machinery and equipment and trucks and traffic on the road.
There will be a Tailings Storage Facility 700m from the creek.
The toxic rock waste will be wrapped in plastic and will be there for eternity, along with the tailings dam full of poisonous sludge. Never to be rehabilitated. Never removed. At Lue forever.
They will be using Cyanide and other poisonous chemicals in the processing plant.
We don’t have much water in our valley, the creek comes from springs, some within the mine site and runoff from rain and we have groundwater bores. Our groundwater and our creek are connected and will both be contaminated by the mining.
Our creek will dry up to a few ponds because they plan to take an average of 806 million litres of rainfall and runoff every year, all the rainfall and runoff from their site. The creek is connected to the mine pit which after mining has ceased will take 200 hundred years to fill and will suck in groundwater to replace any evaporation forever.
Mid Western Regional Council, our local council, will not openly oppose the project, because one of the councillors is employed by Bowdens. Local country politics are a tricky business. The mayor has the best pub in town. Its difficult to get council’s support but surely they must care about the health of the community.
Silver prices are too low for mining to be profitable and demand for silver is dropping. Silver is used in solar panels but if the price increases the manufacturers of solar panels can and will use other products. A big worry is that investors like the super funds, on advice to diversify and offset some other risk, will invest start- up capital and the mine will commence and then be found to be unprofitable after a few years and the miners will just walk away leaving a huge mess. Bowdens are not miners, neither is Silver Mines Limited, their owner. There is a bit of a story behind SVL and its backers and shareholders and some of their previous projects and the way they suck in investors. They have a pretty slick website. The project is supposed to bring jobs to the region but at the expense of all or most of the other jobs in our area.
This project is advertised as the biggest undeveloped silver deposit in world. And that is a terrifying prospect. Lue is not Mexico. Who would want Penasquito at Lue.
This mine will be bad for tourism, farming and for all the people who live in and around Lue. Our children will be poisoned by lead, our water contaminated, the site will never be rehabilitated, the poisonous tailings dam and a pit void full of contaminated water, it will be there forever. 700m from the creek and 2kms from the village. Forever, for eternity.
Lue is in an earthquake hazard zone as in the massive Newcastle earthquake and the earthquake at Newcrest Cadia Mine at Orange…the tailings dam will fail. They all do.
Lead poisoning is irreversible and especially bad for developing children.
This is not a coal mine, it is much much worse.
All the water in Lue and the creek will be acidified and undrinkable.
Lead dust will travel for miles, poisoning rainwater, gardens, animals and people.

Please take these concerns into consideration when ruling on this contravention project,
Yours in good faith,

Bruce Wilson

The project will create more jobs and increase infrastructure in the area and be good for the regional community and boost much needed resources to the area.

The project will help in boosting our struggling economy. The mine is expected to generate significant economic activity over a 16 year mine life. During construction, the project will create 320 jobs - with a further 228 full time positions once operational. Most of the workforce will live locally and contribute to the region’s community.

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

Bowdens Silver has provided financial support to several community groups and events, including the Bullorama, the Rylstone Show Society, Streetfeast and the VRA.
Bowdens Silver have managed their land in an ecologically sustainable way, from their dedication to correctly rehabilitating drill sites to the implementing of effective operations for the control of feral animals and noxious weeds. The EIS indicates that they will continue to maintain their high standards in these areas.

The Bowdens project stands to provide a much needed boost to the local economy, and the company to date has done a commendable job of ensuring that wherever possible, local businesses are engaged and given priority over non-local businesses. Many businesses in the Mudgee area in particular could not exist in any form if it were not for the mining industry.
The mining industry has performed a major role in providing off-farm income for farming families, helping to drought proof farming operations. The land under which the resource deposit exists is nonproductive, non-fertile land. So long as the operation is carried out to the high ecological expectations which the company has laid out, the Bowdens Project can only have a positive effect on the local farming community.

This project will help the nsw government as well as the economy

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.

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

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

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

Since following the progress of the Bowdens Silver project for several years, I have become a great supporter. As the project comes to life, I believe it will positively impact local, state and national outcomes.
In a time where the world is vastly living in economic uncertainty, groups and commercial ventures willing to put so much time, effort and investment to launch such projects should be welcomed and commended.
The surrounding and local areas will benefit from employment and organic economic growth.
Once the project is active, increased proceeds would feed into the Government via the company and individual tax revenue. The mined resources will then ultimately become an exportable commodity for our country and assist in driving our nation to more prosperity.
Silver is a limited resource on the globe with the risk for a shortage due to decreased production and increasing industrial and commercial uses, not to mention the investment case for silver bullion.
It would be a significant step in the right direction (at particularly the right time) to get the project underway.

- With the country likely to go back into its second lockdown period as of today(Victoria already there), due to the CV19 Pandemic. This is a significant project that without question will be creating Australian jobs when most needed. As the country rides a wave of economic uncertainly and peoples lively hoods under threat, this project is a 'no brainer'.
- Local - As with any significant project, such as a silver mine, the effect it has not only on the immediate and obvious who are involved. But its the wider communities that see the benefits long term. This may not bee seen now, but a significant project such as this has real upside for these 'outskirt' communities who are most in need and potentially could almost rely on a project such as this going ahead.
- A silver mine such is this certainly required. How can you prevent the progress of this valuable resource. The use of it in certain medicines, potential healing products and simple wound dressings. Possibilities in this industry are endless, not only from a research perspective, but international trade also. Something that will make this make this country great again.
- just to reiterate on employment. Construction will see 300+ roles for locals. This is something that is required to go ahead.
Thank u

Looking at the minerals that SVL sits on top of and has not yet mined, added to the historical significance of silver's role in times of economic downturn in conjunction with gold - combined with the mining of an alloy essential for medical manufacturing and industrial (economic) output appears vital for Australia now more than ever.

In light of the corona virus economical collapse, that which is really yet to begin, this project will support local communities and provide much needed jobs for NSW.

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.