dial M for misinformation?!

Marathon Resources director - and former federal Labor Senator - Chris Schacht has an 'interesting' take on the Arkaroola dumping scandal, and one that's surprisingly easy to contradict, even by taking a quick glance at the the company's own 'Waste in the Wilderness' document, a mea culpa they issued in response to it!

But, nevertheless, here he is on local ABC Radio 891 on the morning of Monday the 7th of September -

It was true we made a mistake on the disposal of waste material, none of which was radioactive … I just simply say to Nicky [a phone-in caller - BJD] what happened was instead of tipping the waste out of the bags into a trench and covering it over, which was legal, we left it in the bags and that was illegal...

Firstly; not radioactive? What are they looking for, treacle? As Greens MLC Mark Parnell responded (see below) "Well, they're wasting their time drilling there then!"

To quote the Primary Industries and Environmental Protection Authority joint investigation..

The inspection of sample bags uncovered in the test pits confirmed that a number of the bags containing sample drill material exhibit radioactivity levels consistent with that of ore grade material.

The investigation confirmed that Marathon Resources did not undertake to advise or request approval from any SA Government regulatory authorities (EPA and PIRSA) in relation to disposal of potentially radioactively contaminated sample bags/waste.

just a little light littering?


One does wonder how Schacht can have felt confident making these claims in public; but with the ABC's Abraham and Bevan at the helm it seems he hardly need have worried overly much! David Bevan even persisted in trying to tease out the notion that the company was merely 'done' for littering! -

Bevan: Yeah, so your offence is you left some plastic bags there?

Schacht: Absolutely and that is a breach of the regulation of which we admit our mistake and have changed.

Bevan: It was littering.

Schacht: Yes, of course.

Let's take a look at the relevant documentation, shall we?

Firstly, here's how the PIRSA / EPA report described the waste:

Test pits excavated under EPA supervision confirmed the presence of 2 large trenches and the extensive burial of drill samples contained within plastic and calico bags.

The excavation of test pits confirmed the burial of general waste including, cardboard, plastic jars, pvc pipe, paper, packing material, a food container and wrapper within the two trenches.

The full extent of burial of sample bags and general waste was not investigated on 16 January 2008 but has subsequently been confirmed by Marathon. Marathon advises that the number of sample bags is likely to be around 22,800.

and further -

Marathon representatives admitted on-site and in other documents subsequently supplied to PIRSA by Marathon that:

Two trenches were excavated with approximate dimensions of 35m (length) x 4m (width) x 2.7m (depth) by declared equipment and filled with approximately 22800 sample filled bags together with general waste.

Marathons disposal of plastic and calico bags containing sample material does not comply with the following PIRSA approval conditions for the use of Declared Equipment dated 1 November 2006 [this is about using large bulldozers to excavate big holes when you're not supposed to- BJD ]:

Condition 2 - The work is undertaken in accordance with that described in your DEF (received 20 October 2006) and subsequent memorandum of 31 October 2006. Where there is a variation between your proposal and this approval, the conditions of this approval will take precedence.

Condition 6 - Due care is taken to prevent unnecessary environmental damage.

Condition 9 - Exploration contractors and field staff be advised of the environmental objectives of the program, and have a clear understanding of their environmental management responsibilities.

PIRSA also issued the following instructions to Marathon -

PIRSA directs that all unauthorised buried drill sample material [NOTE: NOT just plastic bags - emphasis mine] and general waste at this site must be safely excavated and removed from EL 3258. The site must be rehabilitated back to as close as possible to original conditions [NOTE: because they were never entitled to excavate these trenches in the first place].

leave it out!


In other words, Schacht's claim that it would all have been OK if they'd shaken the rubbish out of the bags is as absurd as it appears.

Marathon was not entitled to excavate 2 very large trenches in the heart of the Sanctuary and conceal all the waste in it, bagged or otherwise. They were supposed to have promptly returned the drilling waste to the original drill holes or associated sumps and mud-pits, and to have taken the PPE and other materials off-site altogether for proper disposal.

The whole idea was to minimise your impact on the local environment, guys! As the PIRSA / EPA report makes clear.

And you don't have to look far to confirm this. Here's the relevant excerpt from the company's own publication,'Learning From Waste in the Wilderness'

Appreciating the risks associated with uranium exploration and mining

Marathon’s DEF specifies how its drilling program is to be managed. The DEF also specifies safety measures for planning and managing work at the Mt Gee drill sites and for managing the disposal of low-level radioactive materials and mining samples. The DEF specifies measures for the bagging and burial of drilling samples, noting that these were ‘developed and approved by the EPA’ and ‘will be implemented’. Under these safety measures Marathon was to:

Have staff dispose of used filter cartridges, and personal protective equipment (PPE) in sealed plastic bags placed in steel drums to be then removed from the site and disposed of through the general waste system away from the Arkaroola site; and

Have excess bulk drill cuttings returned principally to the drilling hole...

The DEF specifies that the bulk of material will be returned to the drill hole. [emphasis mine] It also specifies that all sampling (assay, archive and PIRSA representative samples) and down hole logging would be completed within 2 weeks of drilling, to allow rehabilitation of drilling sites to be concluded preferably within 4 weeks of drilling...

Marathon’s Radiation Safety Plan, Environmental Program and its operational procedures were not focused sufficiently on the need to exercise care with the disposal of uranium-related drilling and assay samples as well as clothing and other materials used when drilling for and handling these materials...

There were also operational and technical failures that contributed to bringing about allegations of site contamination, investigation by PIRSA and EPA and the consequent suspension of further drilling, namely:

The bagged materials associated with the drill site were not returned to the main drilling hole and adjacent drill sump at the completion of drilling (as prescribed in the DEF and EPA guidance documents)[my emphasis]. This was because of delays of up to 6 months in receiving samples back from the laboratory. Marathon’s DEF states that ‘…rehabilitation of an individual drill site should be commenced and preferably completed within 4 weeks of drilling, all reasonable effort will be made to keep to this time frame’. Due to increased industry activity, there were lengthy delays in the return of assay results and materials. However, Marathon was obliged to store the materials until each drill hole was signed-off by PIRSA and its error in practice was subsequently to dispose of the materials without PIRSA/EPA approval.[my emphasis]

The used PPE was not bagged and placed in steel cans to be taken away for disposal through the normal refuse system away from the Arkaroola site. They were instead disposed of at the Arkaroola site.

credibility


Now, the company's done a lot of hand-wringing of late, and makes vociferous claims to have turned over a new leaf after they had strayed so far from the righteous path by illegally disposing of the waste.

And yet here's one of their directors and spokespeople making claims that appear to be an attempt to belittle the scale of their own previous transgressions! How will that affect the public perception of their credibility?

Which leads us to, on a lighter note, well, I can only say... wow! Now it's the second biggest uranium deposit in Australia!

I seem to remember the heady days only a few weeks back when it was the 5th! It's amazing what you can discover when you're not actually drilling!

But I'll let Mark Parnell tease out this discussion in the transcript of the 891 discussion, printed in full below.

ABC 891 discussion part II
Tuesday 8th September 2009

David Bevan [ABC Announcer]: The debate over Arkaroola is set to generate more heat than a nuclear power station. We’ve got an unusual alliance of people wanting to preserve the Arkaroola Station forever, no mining there at all. We had Mark Parnell on the program last week along with conservative MP, Nick Minchin and Iain Evans getting together and saying … leave Arkaroola alone, no mining in Arkaroola. Yesterday on this program Chris Schacht … a Director of Marathon Resources, a mining company that’s exploring that region. He was arguing for the case … for allowing Marathon to get in there and explore and provided they meet all of the environmental requirements that the authorities impose on them be allowed to dig the stuff up, that is uranium. Now, Mark Parnell wants to challenge some of the things that Chris Schacht said to our listeners yesterday … let’s just play you a small portion of what Chris Schacht said yesterday...

Chris Schacht, former Labor Senator, Marathon Board member and lobbyist [speaking [07-09-09]:… this is at least a $5 billion deposit.

Bevan: How do you know?

Schacht: Because already what we’ve explored and what we’ve declared to the stock exchange in both inferred and indicative resource and at roughly the present price it’d be around $5 billion...

Bevan: What, uranium?

Schacht: Uranium. It’s the second biggest single deposit of uranium after Roxby Downs …

Phone -in Caller Nicky: … I wanted to ask Chris why on earth we should allow a company anywhere near Arkaroola, that in your exploration was caught red-handed illegally dumping waste? It’s a disgrace and if you think there’s any credibility for this company after that, you can’t even get the exploration part right, what makes you think that we should believe you about a full-scale mine?

Schacht: It was true we made a mistake on the disposal of waste material, none of which was radioactive … I just simply say to Nicky what happened was instead of tipping the waste out of the bags into a trench and covering it over, which was legal, we left it in the bags and that was illegal and we accept that, we made a mistake. We have restructured the company, there’s been changes to the board, we’ve issued a major policy statement on what we’ve done to change the company as a result …

Bevan: Are you saying Marathon was guilty of nothing more than littering with some plastic bags?

Schacht: No, no we broke the regulation.

Bevan: … is that effectively what you did, you left some plastic bags?…

Schacht: No, no, we left the stuff in the plastic bag and buried it.

Bevan: Yeah, but you could have just tipped it out and it would have been fine.

Schacht: But that’s what the rules allow.

Bevan: Yeah, so your offence is you left some plastic bags there?

Schacht: Absolutely and that is a breach of the regulation of which we admit our mistake and have changed.

Bevan: It was littering.

Schacht: Yes, of course. [End excerpt]

Bevan: Okay, that’s Chris Schacht yesterday … Mark Parnell … why do you take issue with what Chris Schacht was saying?

Mark Parnell: There were two main things but I’ll start by saying Chris said none of it was radioactive. They’re wasting their time, they’re looking for uranium, if it wasn’t radioactive what they’ve pulled out of the ground then what on earth are they doing there?

But really the two things that I take issue with, the first of all is it is $5b. Now, people who hang around the stock market and mining companies understand that there are a number of scales of confidence that you can have when you’re looking for minerals. You’ve got things called indicated resources and you’ve got inferred. Inferred is not much more than a guess. Now, Marathon reported to the stock exchange in July this year and then had to put a correction in because they got their figures wrong. Their latest figures are four mega tonnes indicated, 47 inferred. So that 47 is not much more than guess work based on people sitting at computers screens imagining what the resource might be. So it is a long way away from saying this is a $5b resource.

The other thing I take exception to is this idea of waste, that it was just a few plastic bags … the littering. Well, goodness, there were drums, there were bags, there was a backhoe which was taken to part of the national estate. There was plenty of –

Abraham: What, they buried a backhoe or they used a backhoe?

Parnell: … they basically dug their trenches –

Abraham: Well it was 35 tonnes according to ABC News.

Parnell: - 22,000 bags of waste and it’s not just a question of it being the bags that were the pollution, the core samples are supposed to be put back down the core sample poles.

But the backhoe I referred to was referred to in the EPA and the Primary Industries report, basically it was vandalism of a national estate listed geological monument. And this is the so called fluorite deposit. They’ve never found where the material ended up, it’s worth an awful lot of money. [see the Case of the Missing Minerals]

So it wasn’t just a simple matter of littering, there was incident after incident of illegal behaviour and for Chris Schacht to just say … ‘It was just a minor thing and we’ve changed our ways’, I don’t believe him at all.

Phone-in Caller Anne: … I’m very disappointed with the fact that they’re trying to get mining there. It’s worldwide famous for its beauty. There’s plenty of uranium in the Northern Territory … it’s basically glowing with the stuff and I’m very disappointed in Chris Schacht for supporting it.

Phone-in Caller Peter: … the reason why we allow mining in Australia and let these leases is so that the people of Australia can get access to these minerals … in reality the people of Australia can’t get access to these minerals because the plan is to export it. So Australians don’t need the mining to happen.

 

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

 

10/10: Paul Holloway's opportunity to earn full marks

On the 10th of the 10th this year Paul Holloway, SA's Minister for Mineral Resources Development, has a rare opportunity.

He can earn himself and his government full marks - 10/10 - simply by not doing something!

He can not renew Marathon Resources lease over the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary - which expires on that day - and you can ask him to take this golden opportunity, too.

I'm sure you're familiar now with the objections to exploration in such a unique and beautiful area, with the waste dumping scandal that came to light in January last year, the long clean-up that followed, and the company's hand-wringing mea culpas and declarations of having turned over a new leaf.

But the company has consistently claimed it was utilising environmental best-practice, and that its commitment to maintaining a social licence to operate was central to its operations. (See Fox to Henhouse - this time it'll al be different!)

As the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary's owner Marg Sprigg has said 'leopards don't change their spots.' The owners just want the company - and miners generally - gone from the heart of the award-winning Sanctuary they have worked so hard to create.

And who could blame them?

Minister Paul Holloway spoke of the need to identify those areas that are not appropriate for exploration access in Parliament in March last year. As he said, this would benefit both the environment and the mining industry. The Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary is clearly one of those places; in fact, the ideal place to begin the process of identification and declaration of such mineral no-go zones.

An example letter - mine to the Minister - is attached. As usual, please feel free to attach your own (politely worded) correspondence as a comment below. Other inspiration and information might be found in browsing the site.

Correspondence can be directed to -

The Hon. Paul Holloway
Minister for Mineral Resources Development

GPO Box 2832
ADELAIDE SA 5001

send a letter via e-mail - ministerholloway@saugov.sa.gov.au

Dear Minister Holloway,

In exactly two months time, on 10/10 2009, EL 3258, in the heart of the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, will expire.

I am writing to ask you, on that day, to earn full marks for yourself and your government – that is, 10/10! I am writing to ask you to neither renew this exploration lease, nor grant it to any other company.

Having written to you before I do not intend to go over old ground in listing my objections to your having authorised this exploration program. After the public exposure of the waste dumping scandal in 2008, and Marathon Resources’ suspension from drilling from that date, I’m sure we’re both only too painfully aware of what an environmental and public-relations farrago has followed.

In fact, I’d argue that if you will not refuse to renew Marathon’s lease, you leave your government open to speculation about both its Environmental bona fides, and precisely how outrageous a company’s actions might have to be before you would be willing to take such a decisive step. I remind you that the Premier himself described Marathon’s actions as ‘cowboy’!

I also remind you that the regulations clearly state that the licensee’s performance in respect of the current program will be taken into consideration when reviewing an application, and that favourable consideration will be given to the granting of a subsequent EL over the same area, or a reduced area, when a licensee has satisfactorily fulfilled all obligations of the previous EL.

The public will quite reasonably expect that these obligations must certainly include any DEF. And, surely, a logical converse; that favourable consideration should not be given where the performance has been so, well, unsatisfactory?

I have recently commented on the proposed changes in legislation your government has put forward, some of them apparently in direct response to the case of Marathon’s activities in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, and the deficiencies in existing legislation you yourself have stated had been made apparent by it.

While for the most part I have commended these proposed changes, I want to restate my main objection to them here; the problem is not insufficient Regulation in itself, it is allowing mineral exploration in such a sensitive region in the first place.

I would like to refer you to your own comments made to Parliament in March 2008 –

By and large, the mining industry as a whole does not want to be involved in mining and issues which create public controversy and which create conditions that are to the detriment of the mining industry as a whole. [The emphasis is mine] They would rather avoid such issues. So, where there are areas of high conservation value or other aesthetic value that are not within national parks or are not within a classification of park that prohibits mining, we need to assess them. I know that my colleague the Minister for Environment and Conservation is aware of that, and we are trying to develop a system where we can ensure that we do not have these issues arise.

I put it to you that the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary is clearly just such an area, and the perfect place to inaugurate the commendable program you refer to.

I will be writing to the Minister for Environment and Conservation asking him to join with you and all the relevant stakeholders in developing just such a system,

Yours Sincerely,

Bill Doyle

 

holloway announces a formal end to the clean-up

Perhaps we've all encountered those families where one sibling in the brood routinely bullies the rest, while pusillanimous parents fail to intervene to protect the victims in the name of not 'taking sides'?

I couldn't help but be reminded of this while reading SA mineral resource minister Paul Holloway's statement to parliament announcing the formal completion of Marathon Resources' clean up at Mount Gee in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary.

The whole statement is appended below.

The section that called to mind those unhappy families was this one -

The Northern Flinders Ranges has high scenic, environmental and ecotourism values, but equally high prospectivity for copper, gold, uranium and other metals. The area is also now recognised for having high prospectivity for the development of geothermal energy. The challenge for Marathon Resources—in fact, for all explorers in this region—is to show how the mineral and energy resources can be extracted from this region in a manner that preserves the environmental and scenic values

'Equally high'? As the contemporary shibboleth much loved in managerial and political pronouncements goes 'are we comparing apples with apples here?'.

Answer - No.

Firstly, where the hell is the supposed 'dilemma'? Given that most of the other areas of the state that show similar high mineral or geothermal prospectivity don't have similar high scenic, environmental or ecotourism values then any non-daft person would likely conclude you should do the one set of excavatory things there and leave the really pretty bit for future generations to admire. Wouldn't they?

I am the last person to dismiss arid and semi-arid flatlands as 'featureless' and 'valueless' in themselves. But, surely, where such ecosystems are replicated on a broad scale across the state it makes more sense to target them (well away from key 'niche' areas such as existing reserves, rockholes, foredunes and claypans), rather than assaulting the unique and limited habitats of the northern Flinders Ranges?

I'm also no fan of uranium mining, but that is not the point here.


false equality


Am I the only one who finds all these 'what are we to do, we have two completing claims here that are of equal merit' claims to be irritating, and perhaps just a little dishonest?

For, like the dysfunctional family outlined above, the power distribution here between the sides is scarcely equal! The Arkaroola Sanctuary's owners do not want mineral exploration there, the Sanctuary's friends do not want mineral exploration there - and yet the explorers are there; simply because the mining industry is the domineering larger sibling of the state, while environment, heritage and tourism must take what scraps they can.

Marg and Doug Sprigg had every reason to believe that they had established an international-standard reserve and eco-tourism venture that they could be confident would be preserved for posterity.

Instead they have been subjected to several years of stress and anxiety because of the silly aspirations of the 'right to mine anywhere' lobby. Both the SA Chamber of Mines and Energy and the Department for Mineral Resources Development should hang their heads in shame! What a way to treat a South Australian icon!

And now Holloway is announcing a further prolonging of the agony! Sure, exploration drilling is still suspended pending legislative changes the necessity for which was specifically brought to light at Mount Gee. But will no-one in the industry camp do the decent thing and join Senator Minchin and Ian Plimer in stating unequivocally that there must be limits on where we can mine, and at the Arkaroola Sanctuary they have clearly been reached?

And an apology is the least that they owe the Spriggs.


'the challenge' is to ignore reality!


As for 'the challenge' Paul Holloway outlines - give me a break!

I thought Labor's hard-headed realists were supposed to accept the whole 'you-can't-have-your-cake-AND-eat-it' thing?

Either mining is introduced and systematically degrades the high-conservation value areas of the Flinders Ranges, or we sustain the high-conservation values themselves.

All other claims are mining industry spin that only looks more risible in the light of what has actually happened at Mount Gee. Holloway cannot hold two mutually-contradictory positions to be equally valid by refusing to accept this!

As for other prospectivity, the current geothermal blowout unfolding further north at Innamincka is exactly the kind of thing that should remind us that Arkaroola just ain't the spot for drillrigs, however beneficently they may cast themselves.

I've said before that it wouldn't matter if they were attempting to mine clotted cream or the Milk of Human Kindness in the Arkaroola Sanctuary - it simply isn't the place for it. It's not hard to grasp. No mines, no wind-farms, no free clinics dispensing much-needed anti-retrovirals, no global peace summit conference centre and day-spa for cancer victims, no lost-big-eyed-puppy shelters at Mount Gee!


and hey! - where's jay?


And where is environment minister Jay Weatherill in all this? While Paul Holloway is attempting to persuade us he's pulling off some Solomonic balancing act, where's the man who should be vigorously defending this unique region on behalf of us all? I must write to him and find out...


Paul Holloway's statement follows;

MARATHON RESOURCES

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (15:27): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement in relation to Mount Gee in the Northern Flinders Ranges.

Leave granted.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Primary Industries and Resources SA and the Environmental Protection Authority have recently finalised their assessment of rectification work following breaches of the licence conditions pertaining to Exploration Licence 3258, held by Bonanza Gold and operated by Marathon Resources. I table the Closure Report (Independent Verification of Rectification Works EL3258). This report is now available online from the PIRSA website.

PIRSA, in consultation with the EPA, is now satisfied that rectification works have been completed in accordance with the approved Rectification Plan and Formal Notification. All general waste recovered from Hodgkinson, Mount Gee West and Mount Gee East sites have been removed from the exploration lease, and radiation screening has indicated that all general waste was non-radioactive. Radiation surveys conducted prior to excavation and post-rectification works confirmed that radiation levels have not changed. All mineral samples, including the mildly radioactive samples, were safely removed from bags and drums and reburied under two metres of clean and compacted soil within the same or similar geological and soil formations.

Marathon's activities on this exploration lease brought to light some deficiencies in compliance and enforcement provisions of the Mining Act 1971 that need to be strengthened. In the coming months, I will be giving notice of proposed amendments to the Mining Act. As indicated to this council previously, the government will not contemplate any further ground disturbing activity by Marathon Resources on Exploration Licence 3258, at least until that legislation is in place.

The Northern Flinders Ranges has high scenic, environmental and ecotourism values, but equally high prospectivity for copper, gold, uranium and other metals. The area is also now recognised for having high prospectivity for the development of geothermal energy. The challenge for Marathon Resources-in fact, for all explorers in this region-is to show how the mineral and energy resources can be extracted from this region in a manner that preserves the environmental and scenic values

The Report can be found here:

http://minerals.pir.sa.gov.au/sa_mines/licence_suspension

 

holloway - the indefinite suspension remains in place

Leaving aside the odd use of the current tense in paragraph 4 (did this letter evolve from an earlier version?) I think the message of the following letter from the Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Paul Holloway, is straightforward; the State Government will not declare Marathon's clean-up over until such time as they've formally issued a final report on it, and enacted the legislative reforms necessitated by the Mount Gee Fluorite incident.

No final report and new legislation ('that may well take some time'); no lifting of the indefinite drilling suspension. Marathon cannot drill. Marathon is not likely to drill any time soon. Their lease expires on the 10th of October this year. (South Australia Earth Resources Information Sheet 17th March 2009)

That much is clear. What is not clear is whether their lease will be renewed. (In the circumstances I don't know that I fancy their chances! )

More importantly, what needs to be made clear to the state government is that no mining operation is acceptable in the heart of the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, and that this area, and all other high-value natural areas in the northern Flinders Ranges, needs to be off-limits to mineral exploration, highly-regulated and 'world's best practice' (and after the dumping fiasco how credible are these sorts of claims?) or not.

18/03/09

Dear Mr Doyle

Thank you for your recent correspondence to the Hon Mike Rann MP, Premier, concerning the breach of environmental licence conditions by Marathon Resources at Mount Gee, within the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary. I am responding to you directly as this matter falls within the responsibilities of my portfolio.

As you would be aware on 12 February 2008 the State Government indefinitely suspended the drilling operations for Marathon's Exploration Licence 3258. The Government initiated a detailed investigation into Marathon's practices, led by the Department of Primary Industries and Resources SA (PIRSA) and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

On 8 May 2008, I released the findings of the investigation, which confirmed that there are three sites where unauthorised drilling material and other waste is buried. At the same time the company was directed to prepare a rectification plan for these sites.

On 11 August 2008, PIRSA approved the company's rectification plan for the three sites.
The plan will now be implemented under strict supervision by PIRSA and the EPA, in consultation with the Arkaroola pastoral lease holder. The approved plan can be viewed on PIRSA's web site (www.pir.sa.qov.au/minerals).

PIRSA and EPA compliance officers were on site at Arkaroola to directly regulate the remediation process. The company was directed to engage an independent environmental expert to ensure disposal is achieved to the highest standards and in compliance with the strict regulatory conditions that have been imposed.

The physical site clean-up was completed on 20 December 2008. PIRSA and the EPA are now assessing the final audit report from the appointed independent auditors prior to advising me as the Minister for Mineral Resources Development that the compliance action has been completed.

The Department has not yet signed off on this issue, accordingly, as far as the Government is concerned, the clean-up of the Mount Gee region by Marathon Resources is not yet complete, and it will not be complete at least and until the Department formally signs off on the work that is being done.

In addition, Marathon's activities brought to light some deficiencies in compliance and enforcement provisions of the Mining Act 1971 that need to be strengthened. I will be introducing some amendments to the Mining Act into Parliament this year. I have already stated in Parliament, on the 5 February 2009, that I will not be contemplating any further exploration activity by Marathon Resources at Mount Gee at least and until that legislative amendment is in place, and that may well take some time.

An Exploration Licence only permits a company to undertake authorised exploration activity and does not in any way grant permission to mine. The indefinite suspension on drilling activities by Marathon Resources within EL 3258 remains in place. [emphasis in original - BD]

This Government imposes strict conditions on resource exploration companies, particularly those exploring in environmentally sensitive areas of the State such as the Northern Flinders Ranges. Exploration must be compatible with existing land uses, and any activity in Arkaroola must not adversely impact on the unique landscape of the Northern Flinders Ranges and on the highly awarded ecotourism operations.

Thank you for your interest in this matter.

Yours sincerely

Paul Holloway

Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council
Minister for Mineral Resources Development
Minister for Urban Development
and Planning Minister for Small Business

 

a tale of two notices - what a difference a day makes!

On the morning of Thursday 5th of February, 2009, Marg Sprigg, owner of the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, received a 'Notice of Entry', dated February 2nd 2009, from Marathon Resources.

This notice stated that the company intended to enter the sanctuary for the purposes of “undertaking mineral exploration which may include geological mapping, geochemical sampling, ground and down-hole geophysical surveys, helicopter assisted surveys and drilling” [emphasis mine.]

As Marg told Local ABC 639 this morning -

[W]e were pretty shocked last Thursday to be given a new notice of entry saying they were coming back and one of the things that they wanted to do was helicopter surveys and drilling; we contacted PIRSA immediately because the report that they put to us last year, 12 months before almost to the day, said that Marathon were suspended from doing any drilling...

Marg, like many of us, had been wondering for some time what precisely was going to happen with regard to Marathon Resources' activities in the heart of the wilderness sanctuary.

That afternoon Greens Legislative Council Member Mark Parnell asked his question in parliament of Paul Holloway, the Mineral Resources Minister. (This exchange has been detailed in the previous posting on this blog.)

Mark found a normally circumspect Holloway either startled (or perhaps irritated?!) into a remarkably frank description of the processes required before he would even think of allowing Marathon back in to drill, none of which are likely to see them doing so anytime soon! Given the expiry of their Exploration Lease later this year this cannot be good news for the company!

Mark and his office then issued a press release denouncing any attempt to re-enter the Sanctuary to drill - as the Notice of Entry text, cited above, clearly states - before PIRSA has even finalised its report on the clean-up or lifted the drilling suspension.


"it's a bit odd..."


Mark's press release was picked up first thing on the morning of Friday 6th of February by ABC radio. The ABC reported that "Marathon Resources says the notice of entry is needed so it can rehabilitate the site and repair roads.".

Furthermore, the company said that Marg had already given them written permission to undertake the repairs they wanted; it's worth hearing what Marg had to say about that this morning -

[T]hey said that I had given them permission on 19th January in writing to go and do the track upgrades, that’s not untrue, I gave them permission to do one tiny track repair that they advised me was damaged due to the rain we had at the beginning of January ... [in order] to reach a spot that otherwise would have been very dangerous, to just finish off their final clean up, so they said they needed the notice of entry and notice to use declared equipment, but they actually advised us of the notice of entry after they had done the clean up ten days before, so it’s all a bit odd... [emphasis mine]

'A bit odd' is the least one could say, surely?


notice of entry 2 - the sequel!


Speaking of odd, Marathon Resources faxed another, brand new, Notice of Entry to the Spriggs on the Friday that stated that they intended to access the sanctuary for the purposes of -

Rehabilitation, revegetation and exploration activities of a low impact nature. Those activities ... may include geological mapping, stream sampling, core re-logging, ground gravity surveys, water and dust sampling, airborne reconnaissance, seed collecting, flora and fauna surveys, Heritage surveys. (No request for drilling activities is made following PIRSA Formal Notice dated 8 January 2008)

Gone are any references to drilling and helicopter surveys! And observe that they refer to a notice given to them over a year ago by Primary Industries informing them that drilling is precisely what they cannot do!

Not only did they rush the new notice up to the northern Flinders - they also issued a retraction of the 'old' one of the day before! I wonder how often that happens?

Marg Sprigg again -

[T]hey gave us one on the 5th January and on 6th January they gave us another one saying they were withdrawing the previous one … the day before and gave us a new one saying that there was no request for drilling activities, a complete turnaround in 24 hours...

seems they're not miners, after all!...


But that's not all Marathon did on the Friday. They also issued a press release, targetting Mark Parnell. It describes Mark's claims as 'reckless and damaging,' and makes fascinating reading in light of the above -

Mr Parnell’s claims that Marathon was trying to recommence mining are fanciful and incorrect. Marathon has never undertaken any mining at its Mt Gee project. The only licence the company has is for exploration.

Pedants of the world, please note - Marathon has never undertaken any mining at Mount Gee, because even though it has been drilling holes deep into the mountainside looking for minerals technically this is being done under an Exploration Lease.

Mark's press release had indeed referenced mining in the title, and mentions mining activities (of which drilling would appear to be a significant one, surely?)

But, even then - wouldn't you know? In the body of the Greens' release it says '[y]esterday Marathon Resources served a formal Notice of Entry on the Sanctuary's owners, Marg and Doug Sprigg to re-commence their exploration activities.' Not only does this seem rather clear, it's what actually happened! This is also what the ABC reported.

So, how convincing do you find the company's argument, dear reader? Thought so...


we only want to be nice!...


The Marathon release also states -

On 19th January 2009 Arkaroola Pty Ltd gave written permission to Marathon to carry out track improvements, which requires both use of declared equipment and entry to the site.

This is the permission referred to above for repairs that, according to Marg, were already completed by the time the Notice was issued. They add that -

On 5 February 2009 the Notice of Entry and Notice of Use of Declared Equipment were delivered to Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary by Marathon Resources.

This is the equipment that Marathon is currently using to rehabilitate the sites and repair the roads.

The palpable intent here is to convey the impression that the original notice was only given for those purposes.

But the original document clearly included notice of drilling and helicopter surveys! (And please bear in mind the background as discussed in the previous post.)

Not only do we then need to consider the timing of road repairs issues raised above, if that's all they ever intended to do why on earth did it say anything else on the notice? After a bruising year of negative publicity you'd think the company would be hyper-vigilant in such matters!


PIRSA made us do it!

Marathon Resources delivered the Notices after receiving clear instructions from PIRSA on 20th November 2007 that the company must serve a Notice of Entry every 12 months. Marathon has therefore abided by this PIRSA instruction.

Well, the regulations are not overly clear in this matter, and it will be interesting to see what PIRSA say they meant. But it's pretty obvious that Primary Industries didn't assert that Marathon should serve notice to undertake activities from which they are formally suspended!

This point gave rise to an amusing observation from Marg -

[A]s my understanding is, these are not required annually, once you have a notice of entry and provided you haven’t gone away which Marathon unfortunately hadn’t, that you don’t need to give one annually but apparently it’s a requirement according to Marathon from PIRSA so obviously they have different rules for them...

oblivious to the damage caused...


But before we finish considering the Marathon press release, consider the following gem:

Mr Parnell – with his comments in the Parliament yesterday and in a Media Release issued today - is once again distorting the facts to further his own cause with little respect for the damage he causes to the South Australian resources industry.

As to 'distorting the facts' I'll leave it to readers to judge for themselves!

But here's an open question for the SA Chamber of Mines and Energy and the Department of Mineral Resource Development.

Which, would you say, out of Mark Parnell and his office, and Marathon Resources (given its, um, 'troubled' history in Arkaroola) has caused the most damage to the SA Resources Industry in the minds of the South Australian public?