save arkaroola forum a success!

The Save Arkaroola forum - held today in the rather grand Balcony Room at parliament house - was a great success, attended by a healthy selection of media representatives and a few dozen interested observers devoting their lunch time to the SA environment.

The forum was jointly hosted by Greens MLC Mark Parnell, and Liberal MP (and former party leader) Iain Evans.

'Surprising!' you might think. In fact, it was a day of 'strange bedfellows', given that Peter Owen from The Wilderness Society and veteran Liberal senator Nick Minchin were also on the bill! It's certainly not often that Greens, TWS, and Liberal politicians agree, but in the case of the prospect of mining the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary the message was clear; 'not here!'

As Iain Evans stated “We should simply tell the mining industry… go look elsewhere!"

Or, to quote Senator Minchin "As a conservative I believe there are things that deserve to be conserved …Arkaroola is one of them."

Attendees were also treated to an enlightening short history of the Sanctuary - and a passionate defence! - from owner Marg Sprigg, an excellent short video presentation featuring some stunning time-lapse video photography, and a collection of beautiful large-format photos depicting the region lining one wall.

If you share the concerns of the panel and could spare a few minutes to send a short e-mail to Mineral Resources Development Minister Paul Holloway you'd be doing a lot to help ensure the preservation of the area.

Because - genuinely surprisingly - his department announced last week that it intended to renew Marathon Resources' exploration lease when it falls due on October 10th.

Correspondence doesn't have to be long-winded - believe me, he knows the issues! see the example below - it just has to be on his desk, or his desktop! Because in three weeks the formal notice period ends and the lease renewal is then a certainty.

Please direct it to -

The Hon. Paul Holloway
Minister for Mineral Resources Development
GPO Box 2832
ADELAIDE SA 5001
via e-mail - ministerholloway@saugov.sa.gov.au

Example e-mail to Paul Holloway

SUBJECT: I wish to object to the proposal to renew Marathon Resources' lease in the Arkaroola Sanctuary

The Hon. Paul Holloway,
Minister for Mineral Resources' Development
Parliament House, South Australia

Dear Minister Holloway, I wish to formally object to your intention, as stated in public notices on the PIRSA website as of 27th of August, to renew Marathon Resources' (Bonanza Gold's) exploration lease in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary.

I call on your government to act decisively to preserve the South Australian environment - just as Mike Rann did last year when he announced that Marathon's illegal dumping was unacceptable and that the company was henceforth suspended from drilling. Please review this decision and permanently remove Marathon's lease, and preserve this unique area from any future depredations by the mining industry.

Yours Faithfully,

Bill Doyle

 

forum - protection for arkaroola

The Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary is a spectacular and majestic eco-tourism destination in the SA outback. Established by the legendary Reg Sprigg, the Sanctuary is well loved by tourists, geologists, and conservationists for its breath-taking mountain views, magnificent gorges and waterholes and the geological wonderland of Mt Gee.

Yet, this same Arkaroola Sanctuary is under imminent threat from mineral exploration and uranium mining.

Find out more about this unique and wonderful part of our state from people who have been there and want it protected.

Hosts: Greens MLC Mark Parnell and the Hon. Iain Evans MP

Other Speakers: Senator Nick Minchin

Marg Sprigg (Sanctuary Owner & daughter of Reg Sprigg)

Peter Owen (Wilderness Society)

Wednesday 2nd September 2009

12 - 1pm (please allow 10-15 mins before the forum starts to get through security)

Balcony Room, Parliament House

North Terrace Adelaide

RSVP by Tues 1st September: 8237 9111 / parnell@parliament.sa.gov.au

 

Marathon to push on - Parnell and Evans to push back!

Despite what you may have understood from the media it seems to me that Marathon Resources did not make a stunning new announcement yesterday with regard to either the purported Uranium resource at Mount Gee or their intention to mine it.

Yesterday's Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) release was made because the company is obliged to post promptly when any new information that may affect shareholdings becomes available. The company has obtained the results from their recent drilling program, which was prematurely terminated by the State Government in February as a direct consequence of breaches of their exploration lease (see several posts below). Their conclusion reads as follows: 'The Mount Gee project remains one of the largest undeveloped Uranium deposits in Australia, with excellent exploration potential and good prospects for upgrades/additions to the resource figure.' The resource figure refers to the announcement they had made in September 2007.

In other words, Marathon's recent drilling program tells them they can say they were on the right track with the last announcement, but they can't actually announce any new upgrades (from 'indicated' to the far more solid 'inferred') or additions. We can only speculate what being halted at drill hole 23 out of 50 has meant for the company's ability to sell itself to investors, but it can't have been a welcome development!

And, as any regular reader of this blog would be aware, that the company has never stated that it was going to pack up and go home, even at the height of the embarrassing and damaging revelations about waste-dumping. The planned Pre-Feasibility Study and other non-drilling field-assessment work was always going to be continued with.

But the company needs to return to exploration.

Consider what Marathon's chairman Peter Williams told ABC radio today...

ABC interviewer: And have you had any word on when drilling is likely to resume?

Marathon chairman Peter Williams: That's up to PIRSA and the company to negotiate a method of dealing with the problem that's been uncovered at Mt Gee ... we're working assiduously with PIRSA to work out all the alternatives and resolve how we're going to deal with the problem. Until such time as that's done there won't be a new declaration of environmental factors prepared and that's what would enable us to continue drilling ... that's some time away yet.

Marathon are indefinitely suspended from drilling in the Arkaroola Sanctuary. For very good reason. The State Govt. has said that they're not going to let them back unless they've consulted key stakeholders, particularly Marg and Doug Sprigg, owners of Arkaroola.

Now, the company can 'consult' Marg and Doug 'til the cows come home - but the Spriggs don't want them back. They never will.

The company can also turn up at various regional forums and be nice and polite and neighbourly to the locals. But the State Government cannot pass this off as sufficient 'consultation' or 'community support' to allow a return to exploration for a company whose activities the Premier himself has described as 'cowboy' - not 'neighbourly'! Not in SA's premier Wilderness Sanctuary.

The other key stakeholders are the people of South Australia, and all Australians who love this wild area. We must make it clear that we do not want to see a return of mineral exploration to Arkaroola, by this company, or any other. As former Liberal Environment Minister Iain Evans said today 'there are some areas in South Australia that are simply too special to mine, I put Arkaroola in that category'. Echoing Greens MLC Mark Parnell's 'Arkaroola is one of the most important nature conservation areas in this State and it is too important to mine.'

New call for Arkaroola mining ban
ABC online news South Australia 02/04/08

There is another call for a ban on mining exploration in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary in South Australia's Flinders Ranges.

Marathon Resources says it is pushing ahead with plans for a uranium mine in the sanctuary, based on positive drilling results.

Liberal Opposition MP Iain Evans says that is another reason to protect an area he says is too special to disturb.

"The community do want areas put aside that are going to be there for the public to enjoy long term and I put Arkaroola in that category," he said.

"I think the high country of Arkaroola, the Mount Gee area, Mount Paynter[sis] area need to be protected."

SA Liberal Senator Nick Minchin is another opponent of mining plans for the area and has argued that the SA Government should never have granted an exploration license over land in the wilderness sanctuary.

 

Iain Evans pushes for mining ban - ABC news

New push for wilderness mining ban

ABC news South Australia online 25th March 2008

MP Iain Evans is pushing for a mining ban at Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary.

A former environment minister in South Australia is urging a federal ban on mining in Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary in the Flinders Ranges, but is also making his own efforts to achieve a ban.

There was alleged environmental contamination of the area recently by mining company Marathon Resources during uranium exploration work.

MP Iain Evans wants a mining ban.

He says there is federal power to protect the area, but the Government has been inconsistent in its approach to wilderness areas.

"In Western Australia they've announced a major study into protecting the Kimberley region from overdevelopment through mining while at the same time, here in South Australia, the Rann Government are looking at mining the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary and the Rudd Government remains silent," he said.

Private member's bill

Evans is drafting state legislation to end mining in the sanctuary, despite his party voting against similar legislation this month.

The Liberal Opposition joined the SA Government to defeat a Greens bill to end mining in all sanctuaries.

Mr Evans hopes his colleagues will support a private member's bill to ban mining at Arkaroola and says his party has not yet declared a position on mining there.

"They're waiting to see the final detail of my legislation so at this stage the party has not taken a firm view," he said.

"But they have certainly agreed that I should get the private member's bill drafted up so that can be further looked at.

"My view is that Arkaroola shouldn't be mined."

sanctuaries to remain unprotected

Mike Rann's Labor government, and the Liberal opposition, have joined forces to block a bill proposed by Greens MLC Mark Parnell in the state's upper house that would have placed an outright ban on mineral exploration and mining in the state's private sanctuaries

Govt rejects mining ban

ABC news online 6th March 2008

The South Australian Government and the Opposition have voted together to reject a Greens bid to stop mining in the state's sanctuaries.

Greens MP Mark Parnell says he will reintroduce the bill in another form, to stop mining specifically in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary in the northern Flinders Ranges.

A mining company was investigated last month over the way drilling samples were disposed of in the area.

Mr Parnell says the Government needs to support his amended bill.

"I'll come back with a specific bill just to prevent mining in Arkaroola," he said.

"It's the biggest sanctuary in SA, it's the most important and that's what we need to protect.

"Sanctuaries comprise only one tenth of one per cent of our state and if those areas aren't too precious to mine then where is?"

As Mark points out, sanctuaries are a tiny proportion of the area of the state - but it seems that nothing is too precious to be excluded from the reach of the all-powerful mining industry - not even these private reserves their owners have attempted to establish solely as conservation areas!

And it's also to be noted that despite recent rhetoric from the Liberal Party at both the state and federal level decrying the absurdity of Labor's having ever allowed mineral exploration in the state's premier sanctuary - Arkaroola - in the first place, when it comes to a test they appear to lack the courage to support the principle that some areas simply should not be mined.

One awaits their response to Mark's revised bill with interest.

I believe that former Liberal environment minister Iain Evans - the man who blocked mining in the Weetootla Gorge and had miners completely excluded from the Gammon Ranges National Park (the sanctuary's southern neighbour) - is also drafting his own bill to fully-protect Arkaroola. One hopes that this is a sign that his party will eventually stand behind its own rhetoric.