See attached for further details.

Wellington Valley Wiradjuri Aboriginal Corporation at a Meeting of it's Directors, Field Officers, members and other interested community have assessed the EIS for this project and formally Strongly Object. See attached for further details.

Gallanggabang Aboriginal Corporation at a Meeting of it's Directors, Field Officers, members and other interested community have assessed the EIS for this project and formally Strongly Object. See attached for further details.

Country towns need jobs, and large projects like this are so critical for providing employment opportunities for our young people. The flow-on effects of increased employment are extremely important, not just economically, but also socially and for health reasons

I support the project because major employers like this help keep country towns alive. We need more investment into regional areas and this project is the perfect example of something that will stimulate parts of regional NSW

I appreciate the opportunity to comment on this mining proposal, & wish to support the Lue action group in requesting that it be rejected. We have friends who are landholders 2 kms from the proposed mine site, who despair that their efforts to produce in this valley will become worthless if the mine proceeds.
The village of Lue is 2 kms from the proposed mine site, & it’s Aboriginal meaning of “chain of waterholes” describes the presence of groundwater in this long-standing farming area.
Bowdens propose using 2050 megalitres of water each year, 780 to be taken from the Lawson creek valley, equivilant to more than 1 Olympic swimming pool per day. They admit they will reduce the water table by 25 metres on site, apparently scrapping ideas for water storage. Farmers are rightly concerned that with increasing droughts water will dry up.
There are already recent examples of this happening in the Werris creek area, & the Hunter valley, where the Hunter river water supply has diminished dramatically from the high water usage of coal mines & power stations upstream.
My major concern is that mining & agriculture cannot co- exist.
The Hunter valley also experiences fine dust pollution, now known to damage lungs. The Bowdens mine will produce 83,000 tons of lead, only 2 kms from Lue school. The risk of lead contamination of water sources in the surrounding area is not worth the risk, when there are known examples of environmental damage in the Boolaroo area of Lake Macquarie where the Pasminco Sulphide lead smelter contaminated land which is still being remediated & lead to unacceptable lead levels in children.
The Lue community cannot be confident that Bowdens will be responsible in managing the environment. There are no plans for rejuvenation of the site, the main pit & tailings dam will remain forever & pollution will be ongoing. There are too many examples of irreversible damage to the environment from mining companies such as Ok Tedi in New Guinea.
In the Mudgee area, residents are acutely aware of the impact of existing & proposed mining ventures on established communities like Wollar & Bylong, where mining companies bought up most of the properties, destroying the fabric of those communities & the productivity of the land.
In February 1919, the Independent Planning Commission rejected the Rocky Hill mine application on the basis of proposed Greenhouse emissions. It found “the environmental impacts , particularly on groundwater & productive agricultural land, would last long after the mine is decommissioned.” It has become urgent that we take action on climate change & the costs to future generations.
This is mining proposal is dangerous, with long term risks far outweighing any short term employment benefits. We ask you to seriously reject it.