Mod 11 - Extension Modification

I am in total support of the proposal, employment of any sort is essential to this area . The support Barrick gives to West Wyalong and the surrounding areas and shires is second to none and without this support our towns would be in a lot worse position . Barrick goes out of it's way to support Cultual Heritage and Enviromental issuse and this area would be a lot worse off with out Barrick to look after this and the surrounding area.

I support the extension modification as recently submitted by the Barrick Cowal Gold Mine. The Cowal Gold Mine provides employment opportunities for the surrounding communities and wider region, and offers a level of confidence for businesses operating in the area. Cowal maintains benchmark environmental standards, a site wide cultural that recognises safety as the first priority, and works with the external community in a responsible manner to achieve long-term mutual benefits. Flagship projects, such as the Lake Cowal Foundation and Wiradjuri Study Centre, are best practice examples of what can be achieved when honest and transparent stakeholder engagement and dialogue is lived out. Being a current employee of Barrick I have a personal interest in the extension request being approved.

I support the extension modification submitted by Barrick Cowal. The project provides employment opportunities for the surrounding communities and provides flow on employment and benefits for local business. Cowal works continually on achieving best practice environmental & safety standards and provides various community programs to enhance socio-economic and development of the local communities. Approval of the extension project would ensure towns and villages in the area continue to benefit for an additional 5 years.

Please extend the time that the Lake Cowal Gold Mine can operate as it provides work for this small town of West Wyalong and this company has done what is needed to fulfil all the requirements to operate this sucessful mine.

Dear Sir,

The proposed extension to the Lake Cowal gold mine
would be greatly beneficial to the surrounding district and the town of West Wyalong itself. The mining company Barrick
gold have been very good to the area already, the increased
employment and opportunities for business very evident.

The expansion will hopefully enhance our area further, any environment impacts have been minimal and handled very well by the mining company so far. The towns people are very
supportive of the project ,we hope it will continue for many years to come.


Yours faithfully

Brian Monaghan B Pharm mps
(Bland shire councillor)

The extension of the Cowal Gold Mine will be a great economical boost to the towns associated with the mine [mainly West Wyalong,Forbes & Condobolin ] & will provide more jobs & apprenticeships for workers.

I have lived at Gumbelah on the eastern shore of Lake Cowal for the past 50 years. The change in the environment & to our lives since mining operations commenced at Barrick Cowal Mine has been considerable. Before the area was peaceful, quiet & dark at night,now there is noise & light pollution.
I understand the financial benefit this project offers to the Company & communities in the area in general, but as this consultation process has been set up to discover what impact the Mine & the expansion of the project will have, I will record my views below with reference to the Environmental Assessment 2013 report.
Visual Character (CGM Extension Modification, Volume 1 Sec. 4.8
This section states that visual impact at Gumbelah is low. I disagree with this opinion. Photographs Fig.4.15a do not give a true indication of the actual view from the eastern side of the lake. I have included my own photographs which give a more realistic view of what we actually see.
When the Northern & Southern waste emplacements reach maximum height they will most certainly impact on the view of the lake & surrounds including the view from Gumbelah. It is not only the height of the waste emplacements but also the fact that large machinery must travel up & down these mounds regularly. Intermittent noise & light has always been a problem & will remain so while ever plant & mining machinery is in operation.
After Mine Closure takes place rehabilitation of the site will take several decades to have any effect.
Noise mitigation is an option but will certainly create lifestyle changes & effectiveness is unknown until in place. Previously we have not needed to lock ourselves in our house with reverse cycle air conditioning, it is not the sort of thing people living in rural areas should need to do.
Although Blasting levels generally conform with approved Government standards, there has been a number of occasions when these standards have been exceeded causing corncerns over structural damage.
Coinciding with two excessive blasts, cracks appeared in a concrete floor which had withstood the test of time for some forty years, while several cracks also opened up in the ceiling of the house.
It is my submission that if the proposed extension is to go ahead, then all properties adjacent to or affected by CGM should be offered Acquisition on Request for their property.This is a limited number of properties & does not seem an unreasonable condition given the significant impact the mine has, & will continue to have on our lifestyle & the quiet enjoyment of our property.

Finally, I would like to extend an invitation to the individuals considering the proposal to come on a site visit to "Gumbelah". Looking at a report where individual impacts are divided up under separate headings & sections does not provide an adequate appreciation of how the Mine affects our property when the factors are all in operation together. The noise, the lights, the blasting & the visual impact of the Mine have changed a way of life that we enjoyed for many years.

If the extension is to proceed, stronger protection & consideration of local residents, who have been here long before the Mine arrived, need to be put in place.

I support the extension at lake cowal gold mine for jobs and local town security

I work in town and rely on the mine for job security

COWAL GOLD MINE - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

My name is Andrew Buttenshaw and I live with my family next to the Cowal Gold Mine. In fact our home seems to be inside the lines on all the maps to do with noise, dust etc involving the modification. My ancestors moved here in 1898. We have a holding in and around Lake Cowal.

The Modifications

The Good:
*Use of the saline water from the underground water table is helping to stop the salt from getting to Lake Cowal
*Maintaining employment in a country area
*Increased income for state/federal programs
The Bad:
*Dust, not from the mine, but from the extra traffic on the road as it is a designated access to the mine from Condobolin and Forbes.
*As the mine goes up so do the lights which are now above the trees.
*There are little mistakes and inaccuracies through out the documents, mostly due to not knowing the history of the area over the last couple of hundred years. A little local knowledge would have helped correct a few of the errors made by some of the notable consultants.
*There is a concern amongst local landholders that the locking up of the offset areas and other country owned by Barrick has increased the fire risk in the area. It is all very well to be trained and equipped but prevention is better than cure.
*The end of mining will see a big void left and several conservation areas and offsets. I have concerns as to who will maintain these areas (fencing, feral animals, etc) and whether there is a chance that the increase in the pit will reduce the distance between the Lake and the void, thus allowing salt water seepage to reach the Lake over time.
*I am also concerned as to how much valuable agricultural land is being tied up in the whole process. How much of the 25,000 acres that Barrick now owns will be returned to valued agricultural production?
*There is a map of residences close to the road outside West Wyalong and how they are affected by noise from mine traffic. What about the residences around the access roads at Lake Cowal and the affect noise and dust from the roads has on them?
The Ugly:
*The sight of the dumps is not attractive and overtakes the landscape. Whenever we travel to town on the Lake Cowal road we are confronted by a great wall of dirt and whenever we drive around our property we observe the large area taken up by the mine. Every time there is a modification the wall goes higher and is compared to one of the surrounding hills. There are not many higher hills left to compare.
*We spend time picking up the rubbish dumped by workers at the mine as they drive along the road outside our place.

General Comments:
*There is a comprehensive report on the fauna at the Lake but I would suggest they are in more danger from the feral animals than from the mine modifications.

The Mine:

*The mine has been a life saver for the town of West Wyalong, slowing the population loss to a trickle.
*Socially the town has suffered. It is a town dominated by sport and has had some great sports men and women and many sporting achievements. Unfortunately the shift work involved makes it very hard for teams to nominate in competitions with other towns as it is hard to know if there will be a team available.
*While we, personally, have suffered a loss of privacy, security, scenery and sleep due to the existence of the mine I have, in the past, supported its continuation due to the benefits it has brought to our town.
*As someone living with a mining operation in my backyard, I will continue to support the mine for as long as it continues to support our community.

I'm writing to you as a 3rd generation commercial fisherman my income is solely from fishing in NSW inland lakes and waterways.

1.Cowal Gold has already taken part of our traditional fishing grounds and now they propose to take more with no consideration for our traditional rights and loss of income. And with no consultation or compensation.

2. The constant noise and dust and lights from the mine is causing sleep deprivation and breathing difficulty's.

3. The blasting is turning me into a nervous wreck as there is no warning while I'm working on the lake.

4.I have been fishing for over 30 years and have never seen sick Yabbies that are at Lake Cowal.

5.What effect is the blasting having on the Yabby stocks in the lake and under the Lake that are in hibernation does the blasting cause concussion.

6. What contamination is being leaked into the lake and aquifers by the mine.

7. Why have no test results for contaminants been listed on your web page.

8.Where does the mine get its water from.

I, like the vast majority of residents of the Bland Shire lend our unequivocal support for the Modification to the Cowal Gold Project. The mine has provided a massive shot in the arm to the local community and economy. There is no doubt the Cowal Gold Project has saved our town from becoming a ghost town. Barrick Gold as a company could not be a better corporate citizen. They contribute far more than just economic stimulus to our small, rural economy. They are passionate about supporting and strengthening our town and preparing us for the future..

I'm in favor of the extension as it will bring benefits to the local community, business and will not disturb vegetation in the process.

I object to the expansion of Cowal Gold Mine for the following reasons:
1. Lake Cowal is one of my traditional fishing areas, fishers have been denied access to these traditional fishing areas and have not been consulted with or compensated.

2. The water is receding faster than normal.

3. I was not given the opportunity to opose this mine project at the initial start.

4. Mine staff have interfered with commercially set yabby traps.

5.There are now sick yabbies in this Lake since this mine commenced.

6. No studdies have been carried out on the effects that concussion would have on yabbies in the area.

7. The dust from the mine is causing respiritory problems for fishermen.

8. The noise at Lake Cowal is unacceptable for fishers living on the lake.

I object to the extension of the Lake Cowal Minning Project on the grounds listed below.
1. Since starting fishing at Lake Cowal I have been suffering respiratory problems because of the dust.
2. I have been denied access to traditional areas of the lake by the mine, if the mine was to expand I would possibly be denied access to more traditional areas
3. The constant noise from the mine makes living on the lakeside unpleasant.

I Colin Armstrong Inland Commercial fisher for 35 years to return to lake cowal for the first time in over 12 years when the lake larst had water.Was stunned to see the gold mine out in the lake and how this was ever aloud or granted the right to mine one of the biggest fresh water lakes in Australia. this lake has been commercially fished for over a hunderd years.Over 90 tons of golden perch was court in this lake in one year.
From september 2013 till now well over 100 tons of yabbies have been court .Commercial fishers do not want this mine extened in eny way. To see the dust of the mine blowing over the lake on a windy day the noise coming from the mine at night.We have losted a part of this lake to fishing and can not fish in the bondry of the mine site some fishers have had there netts remove from this fishing arera of the mine this being our fishing grounds. Will barrick gold mine be compansting the inland fishers for the hunders of thousands of dollars lost from our fishing grounds for now and for ever more Yours sincerely Colin Armstrong

Please find attached my submission.

Beila Wordsworth