McPhillamys Gold Project

I have lived in the Blayney Community since 1993. I have followed the progress of this development with interest and see that there are a number of community members who are against it proceeding. I am satisfied that Regis has been open and transparent about the potential negative impacts on the community and have worked hard with community members to mitigate any unacceptable risks. I am confident in the regulatory process to protect our environment when these types of projects are proposed. This development will provide much needed financial benefits to our community. Many jobs will be provided which will bring considerable relief to those who are currently unemployed. Whilst Regis has gone to considerable effort to highlight how they will be good environmental corporate citizens, those who oppose the mine have only voiced theories and not provided evidence that they are correct. I do not see any reason why this project should not be permitted to proceed.

This project has the potential to pollute the ground water entering the Belubula River System. There can be no justification for taking such an environmental risk. How can the State of NSW allow a project, with so many downsides, be approved for the extraction of gold which has become a useless metal.

In this era of economic uncertainty I am pleased to see the economic opportunity for the Blayney region that exists if this venture proceeds. While some residents in the area will need to adjust to the reality that progress requires change and not all change will suit everyone.
The majority of residents in Blayney, particularly those that seek employment in the mining and or related industries are anxious for this development to go ahead.
Not every business will benefit directly but I believe that there will be enough increase in available spendings from the new employment that will create an definite upswing in our local economy.
In regard to environmental concerns I would think from reading the proposal and my understanding of the ongoing requirements of the EPA that there will be little opportunity for negative impact on the water or air quality in the surrounding district.
Provided we are given adequate undertakings regarding the rehabilitation of the site I am pleased with the proposal.
Income generating opportunities for smaller communities are rare and this one cannot be allowed to get away.

I have attended the information days delivered by Regis and have spoken at length with the employees. I have also read much of the EIS. Several issues worry me.

The tailings dam is my main concern. It is designed to leak, as I have been told on many occasions. It is far bigger than required which leads me to believe it will be used in the processing of ore from further afield, resulting in increased traffic and pollution. I feel the site will be in use for much longer than the proposed time frame. The position of the tailings dam is on the springs that feed the Belubula River. Their function will be impaired and the water polluted. The piping in of waste water from Lithgow will guarantee the salination of the river. This I have been told by Regis employees. This quality of the water in the pipeline is not disclosed. Regis will not/cannot tell us the make up of this water from a power plant in Lithgow. Interestingly it is not allowed to be pumped into the Coxs River as it is in the catchment of the water supply for Sydney. Surely we should be afforded the same safeguards? We are in the worst drought on record. It is insanity to compromise our water supply. The river supports many farms. The emphasis should be on preserving our water not polluting it and diverting it to produce gold.

Blayney regularly has earthquakes. The Cadia mine tailings dam wall broke a few years ago in an earthquake, which, by the way has not been repaired! There is no quarantee from Regis that the tailings dam is earthquake proof.

The statement form Regis that the dust will be contained is misleading and wrong. Again, Regis admitted that they cannot control the dust. Blayney will be regularly inundated with dust due to the strong prevailing winds in this area. I am an asthmatic and an equestrian coach which means I am outdoors most of the day training horses or coaching. This will impact on my health and capacity to earn a living. Blayney Council is in the process of building a $2.2 million Livestock and Equestrian Centre. The noise from blasting and inundation of dust will impact on the viabililty of this community facility. The close proximity of houses and properties makes the impact of this mine an untenable proposition for quality of life for these residents. When I asked the Regis fellow whether he would like to live in one of these houses he replied no. Exactly my point.

Blasting will be 24/7 I have been told. This will make my coaching of residents near the mine impossible as horses will react negatively to the blasting. My insurance company has told me that if an accident occurs in a lesson due to blasting I will not be covered. Mining in such a densely populated and intensively farmed community is ignorant, arrogant and obviously greed inspired.

The area the mine is has a koala colony. Koalas are under threat. I know Regis has bought a parcel of land as required by law but they have no plan to relocate the wild life. I was told the koalas could make their own way there. Yes, travel about 40 kms. This is an ignorant and arrogant response by Regis displaying no desire to the environment or wildlife.

Again, a very misleading statistic concerning the generation of jobs is leads us to believe there will be local jobs provided. The Regis employee when pressed admitted there will be some local jobs but most will be employees brought in. Once again we have been fed mistruths, lying by omission and data being presented in a misleading way hoping the average person will not delve further.

Please take our water supply seriously. The farming community depends upon the Belubula River. We can't eat gold.

The use of HPGR (high pressure grinding rolls) technology reduces noise and dust generation generally associated with crushing activities. This equipment is currently in use at at Cadia so the skills to maintain them are held locally as well, reducing the need for an external workforce. By installing it ahead of a ball mill, instead of conventional SAG milling reduces the transport requirements for grinding media and liner deliveries, whilst also significantly lowering the demand for water. Grinding media deliveries for a SAG mill would normally equate too ~2 - 3 trucks/week, however, this need now appears to have been removed. Typical SAG mills require relines at least twice/year,with ball mills relining approx every 18mths. This will mean less mobilisation/demobilisation of a shutdown workforce, and a more stable operational demand on water and power.
The Cyanide destruct circuit appears to have been sensibly designed, again allowing for dual redundancy by installing 2 detox tanks. As 1 would be adequate to deliver WAD CN levels of sub 50ppm (Lake Cowal- Evolution Mining has 1 to target sub 30ppm), 2 will ensure full compliance, whilst also allowing 1 to be offline for maintenance. By installing WAD CN detection on the first tank, if an elevated reading was detected, there is still ample capacity and time to either rectify or shut down.
The detox circuit (INCO) is well established in industry, and currently in place at Lake Cowal. This allows knowledge sharing, whilst de-risking one of the environmental aspects of the project.
Industry standard now in CIL circuit design is the installation of pumping interstage screens. This not only reduces the capital cost, but allows for all of the tanks to be constructed on the same level. This reduces the visual impact as the tanks no longer have to be staggered in height. It would be expected that Regis Resources would incorporate this into their detailed design.
Overall a compact, well thought out plant design that appears to utilise industry leading and accepted technology. Thought has been given to both operability and maintainability, whilst reducing the visual, noise and dust impact on the surrounding environment. Heavy vehicle movements have also indicated to have been effectively reduced.

Our residence in Kings Plains will be directly affected by this project. We are situated opposite the proposed 'amenity bund' which we understand will take at least four (4) years to construction while operating 24/7.
We believe that this will have a huge impact on us as both visually & the noise level will increase considerably. We believe that the dust created from this project also has the potential to affect the quality of our water as we harvest the water from our roof into tanks for drinking & washing.
Our desire is that if this project does get approval that the company behind this project will meet their obligations of mitigation & / or the purchase of our property.
Regards,
Graeme Summerson

1. I live in Carcoar, my property backs onto the river. A river which me and my children and their grandchildren, and their children swim in every summer. The potential for the water to be poisoned by a tailings dam placed on the springs which feed the river, no matter how small a possibility is too big a risk! This is an intergenerational issue, it is not simply an issue of recreational wellbeing, but the wellbeing for all children of the farmers that are sitting all the way along this river to the Lachlan.
2. The springs that the tailings dam will be built on... springs that will be plugged forever, sit in a natural rain catchment bowl, one of significant farming history this is also a significant water table. It is general knowledge that the water table below Cadia Newcrest Mines is polluted, poisoned with heavy metals. Once again the potential for the Kings Plains water table to be polluted is at any level of possibility, one that is too great a risk!
3. The Belubula River is a tributary for the Lachlan food bowl, a tailings dam slump...would poison the river forever. Tailings dam slumps are way too common. Cadia currently has two slumps in its dam wall. Regis also had a dam all slump recently in WA.
4. Water is above all else crucial to sustaining our farms, our food, our livelihood, our wellbeing both physical and mental, our climate,
this proposed mine threatens all of these things.
5. This is a highly populated area, the mine 7 kms from a significant township may bring revenue initially, however dust from the mines will undoubtably drift on the east wind over the village, this revenue will be short lived and the environmental impact and health of the local inhabitants, too great.
* I have my own images of the significant dust cloud on a still day above Cadia mine as evidence.
6. Relationships have been affected by the division in the community, as the debate for and against the mines takes place.
7. Kings Plains is not just farming but an area of great natural beauty, beauty and geological structure that can never be rehabilitated.
8. This is a significant Indigenous heritage site.
9. There is also a koala colony and heritage trees.
10. A significant bee farm that builds bee colonies to support Bee farms in America which are failing sits on Kings Plains. This is a threat to the viability of this family owned business, one of many family owned business that will be negatively impacted by a mine on this site.
11. This proposed mines is causing great emotional pressure to me and many people that live and farm this area. At a time when the climate crisis is advancing at an alarming rate, gold is not necessary for feeding us and providing water for stock. There is enough gold above the ground to recycle for industry.

I am concerned about the proposal for this gold mine.

It will sit directly on top of five natural springs that feed the river that run through the village, and eventually join on to the Lachlan river.
The mine's solution to the problem to plug the springs up with concrete is not viable.
To build a tailings dam on top of those plugged up springs will be damaging with that tailings dam full of toxins. To "rehabilitate" the land by covering the tailings dam with rocks, then dirt, then putting grass on top is not a solution to the damage caused by this project. I'm worried about the long term impact on our fragile environment in this area.

In an age where water security is going to become a MASSIVE issue (as if it isn't already), this is utter lunacy. It's GOLD. We don't need gold to live. We need water. We need arable land. The only people who'll benefit from this are the mining company's shareholders 49% of whom are not Australian, so even the benefit of the wealth generated from the mine will not remain in Australia.

I'm also concerned about our native wildlife in the area. I feel that Regis haven't adequately addressed this issue.

This mine must not go ahead. It's not fair that mining companies make a quick buck and leave our children and grandchildren to deal with the consequences.

I am
completely opposed to this project on humanitarian, environmental and economic terms. This is a major source of water for the local
Community. It is a major tourist attraction for the local community. It is a major resource and focus point for many of the community groups and local residents. It is a major source of unpolluted water for the farms and households in Carcoar and surrounds. It’s natural beauty permeates the community and environment on every level. I cannot stress more strongly my deep opposition and rejection of this proposal.

I fully support this project. It will provide vital economy stimulus for the local community and jobs for locals.
The location is well suited to this type of development.

I am concerned about this impact of this project, which is being undertaken in the central west region of NSW in which I live. I have heard the objections of the residents in the more immediate area and I support them.

Water is a major factor and concern for all of us in NSW. We are living in a time of severe drought and we cannot let anything impact on our precious and dwindling water supplies. I am concerned about the hazards and pollution that this mine presents, especially due to dust, fumes and potential water source contamination.

I do not believe that the benefits of such a mine outweigh the costs to our land and our culture and way of life. Rather than disturbing our precious natural resources, experts say that there is enough gold already in circulation to be used for medical and essential services. We have taken too much from our vulnerable planet and we need to address the suffering this has caused to our environment and ourselves. Building this mine is not a way forward for the local community or for Australia.

I am objecting to this project for the following reasons
1/ The project will create excess dust in the area both creating health issues with breathing and sinuses, also the dust will collect on our home roofs thereby entering our drinking water in our tanks polluting our water.
2/ The noise level will affect our day to day lives as the project will operate 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Also the lighting will affect people living near the mines sleep patterns as there will be strong lights on across the mine site 24 hours a day.
3/ Blasting at the mine site will destabilise the areas fault lines with the real chance of earth quakes and tremors that will damage the structure of our homes and farm sheds.
4/ The real danger of the mines draining our bore systems as they have acquired many bore licences in the area and this is water we need to water our livestock and gardens, also taping into springs that keep our dams full water which we have needed to help us get through the drought. We are asked to preserve our water but mines can waste as much as they like.
5/ The tailings dam is going to occupy a huge amount of land with a real chance of the toxins contained in them to leech into surrounding farm land causing contamination to our ground water, poisoning of our livestock and the real possibility of pollution in the air that will be a real threat to our health. There is real danger to the Belubula river also Carcoar dam if these contaminants escape the tailings dam. The possibility of Lake Rowlands being polluted will be an environmental tragedy as this is the town water supply for Blayney.
6/ The possibility that farmers and small business owners will be affected by the mines offering higher wages to workers thereby harming their chances of employing staff, also farmers will not be able to have access to trades that service their equipment because they will be to busy servicing mine equipment.
7/ Our roads are insufficient to cope with the large truck movements that will erode the tar surfaces causing major damage.
8/ Cadia mines closest neighbour is 6 kilometres away where the neighbour closest to McPhillamys mine is under a kilometre so that is a real threat to there mental health as well as physical health. Neighbours will not be able to open their windows for fresh air as the noise and dust levels will be very harmful.
9/ Bee population will be greatly affected as everything will be covered in dust so if we lose our bees we lose our food and that will be catastrophic to everyone not just close neighbours.
10/Property values will be greatly affected, we have spent many years with lots of hard work to get our homes and properties to how they are now ,the threat of losing value off our properties not only affects us now but into our retirement.
11/ Underground asbestos surrounds this whole area so why are so many conditions put on home owners removing this when renovating when Regis will be blasting it into the air which will cover a huge area contaminating everything it falls on.
These properties are our homes not just money making entities like mines, we deserve to be able to live without the real threat of health issues caused by dust ,noise , contamination of water supplies, earthquakes and stress. Many generations of families have been here for many many years, why should Regis be able to come in and destroy the dreams of so many. Why should we be forced to move because of greed or if we decide to stay be poisoned by mining. This mine cannot be allowed to operate as it is way to close to residents and farms and has a real danger of causing death from many factors that the mine will cause.

I, Ben Volkofsky, would like to make a submission in support of the McPhillamys Gold Project.
I believe the project will be beneficial to the Blayney local community and for that matter the state of NSW. In a time of challenges within our economy such projects inject stimulus into the economy that far outweighs the negative impacts of a mine of this nature.
I believe it would be a disservice to the community and nation as a whole if this state significant development did not go ahead.

Regards,

Ben Volkofsky

I support the mcphillamy gold project. I am in favour of Regis coming into the area, providing job opportunities and supporting existing businesses.
I don’t believe that there is a genuine threat to the water level in the belubula river, in relation to the proposed mine opening.

At a time when the country is severely affected by drought we need to conserve water not use it for yet another mine. Not to mention the wide life that will be affected. while the study May have only found one koala that doesn’t mean anything, I grew up around that area and firmly believe there are far more koalas then that and in my opinion drought, wildlife etc should all come well before more mines.

It will end up ruining the entire community and the health and well being of the waterways and animals that live there.

I am a concerned private citizen writing to express my objection to the McPhillamys Gold project.
I don’t believe that Regis has adequately addressed the myriad of problems the mine will cause to the local water supply. I don't believe Regis has adequately addressed the effects that its proposed dam will have on future drought relief efforts. I believe Regis has attempted to obfuscate the environmental impacts of this project by burying its salient details inside a needlessly enormous 6,600+ page EIS. I do not believe that the mine has been sufficiently diligent in its plans to ensure that the local koala population will not be affected. I believe that in an era of accelerating climate change, fresh water and arable farmland are going to be a national asset beyond estimable value, and that food security will be one of the most serious security threats facing our nation in the 21st century - and one of the primary causes of geopolitical tension and conflict worldwide.
What's more, I believe that the true stakeholders - the local farmers and other residents, or the land's traditional custodians of the Ngarrabul nation - do not want this development to go ahead, and their desires are being ignored in favour of narrow corporate interests, benefiting an infinitesimal fraction of the population of this country.
Thank you taking my concerns into consideration.

I am writing to object to the proposed McPhillamy Gold Project at Kings Plains.
While I understand that the water for mine will be recycled via a pipeline from Lithgow, Regis is proposing to plug the springs which allow the Belubula River to flow during dry times and build their tailings dam directly above. It defies all logic that this proposal should even merit your consideration. My community and much of the state is currently in the grip of a severe drought which is predicted to continue into 2020 and possibly beyond. Carcoar, the town where I live sits on the Belubula and the river also supplies towns further downstream. To keep this lifeline flowing local councils are now being forced to implement severe water restrictions which will impact on all of us. Given that water is our most precious commodity why should Regis be allowed to build a tailings dam containing toxic pollutants at the headwaters of 'our' river? There are many, many reports of tailing dam ruptures including Cadia which recently had a breach in its tailings dam wall which I understand has not been fully repaired. Given this, how can I and my community accept the assurances from Regis that this will not happen with their tailings dam wall? The risks are far too great. Put people and farmers before gold!

Yours Sincerely,
Todd Hahn

Our country depends on the river system to sustain agriculture and rural communities.
This project will negatively impact the headwaters of vital rivers. And if that isn’t bad enough, it has a high risk of contaminating precious water.
It is insane to allow a mine on top of the springs that feed the Belubula River. It is insane to take any risk with the water supply when more and more rivers are drying up ad we endure longer dry periods. Surely we can learn from the terrible state of the Murray -Darling and protect these springs and the many rural communities sustained by the Belubula River.
It is time the NSW government actually cared for the environment and put the people it is meant to represent ahead of the commercial interests of corporations.