McPhillamys Gold Project

I object to the Mc Phillamys gold Project as it less than a 500m from my Boundry fence. I know that this mine will destroy thousands of Acers of prime Agricutural farm land and also destroy many Familys and near by homes. it also upsets me greatly to know that our bore that is the life of our home and farm in years like this is at a very high chance of being dried up and useless. once the mines is up and running there will be a lot of dust and noise that will reduce the life style of me and my family. there will be dust from the tailings dams with very high levels of chyanide in it which will land on our roofs and run into our drinking water . I'm greatly upset by this mines coming to destroy my life and all the lives of Blayney the town 8km from the open cut.

The McPhillamy's Gold Project is causing a great deal of heartbreak amongst residents adjacent to the proposed mine, including to my wife and myself. Our home is, according to Tony McPaul of Regis, situated exactly 1 kilometre from the proposed pit centre and is according to Regis, the closet home to the mine pit. It is easy to say that there was gold here originally, but for the last 150+ years it has been a sleepy little rural hamlet. That WAS the joy of living here. Now, it seems we are to subject over the next fifteen years to a great deal of noise (above the DPI limit of 40DB), unknown quantities of dust & light as well as potentially devastating impact on our ground water supplies (we cannot survive here without groundwater). Regis will say that they have employed lots of "experts" to understand and manage the disruption for water, noise, light & dust. However, I know (and you should know too) that if the residents had the same financial resources we could find experts of similar qualifications to determine exactly the opposite view. Once operations start, Regis is saying that they will control noise, light & dust through rigorous control over operations. Maybe, but the great majority of personnel employed on the site will be independent contractors. These people (like Regis) are driven by "costs & profit"; they will not be interested in controlling anything when it comes at the cost to their own profits. This is a simple and self evident truth which somehow seems to get lost when discussing these issues with Regis management.
Regis will say that there are lots of towns with mining central to their operations. That is true (Kalgoorlie, Mt Isa, Broken Hill etc just to quote the obvious ones). However, these places were started because minerals were located there before Europeans settled there in any numbers (I don't think the Indigenous people were into mining). Therefore, mining was integral to the towns' operations. If that had happened here, the argument would be quite different. Nobody here knew this resource was there until the last decade when Alkane took an interest.
According to Regis, the proposed mine will reduce the water flow into Carcoar Dam by an estimated 9% pa over the life of the mine. This is a huge loss of water to the river system, which the NSW Government seems ambivalent to. This will have a devastating impact on local agriculture, the impact of which is difficult to assess. The tailings dam will be full of dangerous chemicals & other nasties which will destroy farmland below should it ever leak or overflow. Of course. we are told that can never happen (it happened only recently at Cadia!) until it does happen (despite the best planning, human ingenuity cannot think of every mishap that might occur). The negative impact on the Belubula River of this development is a major reason why the McPhillamy's Project should be disallowed. There are no plans to replace the lost water, with the State Government showing zero interest in this matter, despite projecting infrastructure spending.
The State Government wants this project (the Department wants it too) and the local Council is sitting on the fence. The State member of parliament washed his hands of it long ago. It is clear that the small community of Kings Plains will be just sacrificed to the supposed economic "benefits" that this project will bring, despite the overwhelming negative impact on the lives of residents living adjacent to this proposal. This whole exercise is hugely mentally depressing on local residents, none of which will be considered at all in assessing this proposal, as money will be the driver of all things.
Despite the EIS, there are a lot of outstanding issues which hopefully the IPC will address in reviewing this proposed project.
Miles Hedge
Kareela
Kings Plains NSW 2799

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I am writing to express my support of this project and the benefits it will bring the surrounding areas. This project will greatly benefit this regional area with jobs and increased opportunities for local business.

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Meredith Ziegler
16 Moorilda Street, Neville, NSW.

Name of application: McPhillamys Gold Mine Project
application number SSD – 9505

I OBJECT to the proposal

REASONS FOR OBJECTION:

1. The proposed mine represents an unacceptable risk to the whole river system, with the potential for toxic spills to contaminate the Belubula River which runs through Blayney, through town, through rich alluvial prime agricultural production land and into Carcoar Dam.

2. The proposed mine represents an unacceptable risk to the disruption of adjacent underground water, particularly as the depth of the pit will be far lower than the current springs which many people rely on for both stock and personal consumption.

3. Placing the tailings dam over the springs which feed the Belubula Headwaters, coupled with intended harvest of surface rainwater by Regis from the mine site, poses an unacceptable reduction in water availability to the Belubula river which is relied on by many farmers down stream as well as for recreational purposes at Carcoar Dam.

4. The physical effects of the proposed mine and potential contamination of tailings leaking into the groundwater will be felt by and be a burden for generations to come, long after the mine closes and Regis walks away with their profits. Despite the assurances of Regis, such inter-generational effects are well documented and result in the state government and taxpayers having to foot the bill for clean up if de-contamination is even possible.

5. The effect of the proposed mine will have an unacceptable impact on nearby residents from noise, dust and light pollution in addition to the increased traffic on the roads. It will transform Kings Plains into something unrecognizable and certainly not a place where people want to live.

6. Having worked in mining, and lived in mining towns for nearly 20 years, I am well aware of the impacts the proposed mine will have on the town. In my experience and opinion, the negative impacts will far out way the short-term, limited economic gains that are propounded by Regis. Further, the economic advantageous are more likely to flow to Orange and Bathurst rather than Blayney, yet Blayney must bear the burden of the effects of this mine.

7. The proposed mine requires the clearing of 44 Ha of gum woodland. Our area has already been heavily cleared due to past farming practices. This makes the existing established stands that much more precious to keep.

8. I worked in mining for a long time throughout NSW and Queensland. My husband still works in mining. I am not against mining. But I am against this mine. The short-term economic benefits cannot out weigh the cost and potential risks to the environment, our farming land and our community.

Meredith Ziegler
21 October 2019

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I object to the project. I live in Orange, however work across the Central West and have family and friends immediately affected by this project. I strongly object to this project on a number of accounts, however most importantly due to the negative impact it will have on health and water security. Water - not gold - will become the currency of the future (near future). The risk to local water reserves is too high. I am astounded that a private project, quite clearly supported by the local and NSW government, is able to fund a pipeline to secure water for this project. All government bodies should be investing their time and money into water security - not another gold mine. Where is the investment from the government in a pipeline for domestic and agricultural water resources in the Central West and beyond? Look at the size of the Cadia Newcrest mine and its recent announcement of further expansion!! For community members wanting 'local jobs' well go to Cadia. They will offer more work and local jobs than Regis will. Our government talks of investing in a thriving regional economy - this mine project will not bring that. It will result in people having to leave their homes and businesses to find a safer, healthier location to live in - with a water supply unaffected by poisonous by-products of yet another mine.

Please find attached a submission objecting to the McPhillamy's Gold Project.

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