It was first mined during the gold rush years, was closed at the outset of World War I in 1914, and did not reopen again until 1999. It has produced 1.95 million ounces of gold over the years, worth more than $3 billion at today's gold prices, and its resources remain ''open at depth''.
Yet now, with no resistance from government or regulators, management is preparing to dump 300,000 tonnes of tailings - mining leftovers thick with arsenic, cyanide and other toxins - straight back into the underground mine itself, risking ultimately poisonous seepage into the water table.
This might seem an acceptable risk if the mine were way out in the desert. Rather, the historic Tasmania Mine, with its famous red and yellow headframe, is situated smack-bang in the middle of the township of Beaconsfield in northern Tasmania
http://www.theage.com.au/business/hidden-treasure-in-mine-with-no-future-20120803-23l67.html
No comments:
Post a Comment