Accolade Wines rips into Woodside mine proposal as owner Terramin is asked to revise groundwater plan
The owner of Petaluma Winery has come out against a controversial proposed gold mine in the Adelaide Hills, saying it poses an “unacceptable risk”.
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One of the world’s largest wine companies has joined the fight against the approval of the Bird in Hand gold mining project in the Adelaide Hills, saying it poses an “unacceptable risk” to groundwater in the area.
The mine’s proponent, Terramin Australia, was last week asked by the State Government to respond to more than 100 concerns it had with the mining proposal, ranging from about 60 issues with its groundwater modelling to its approach to community engagement.
More than 250 public submissions about the proposed gold mining plan were also released, with wine industry heavyweight Accolade Wines, which owns the neighbouring Petaluma winery, saying “there is an unacceptable risk that the proposed mining operations will impact groundwater availability’’.
Opponents of the gold mining plan have also attacked Terramin for claims on its website that “the mine will not use groundwater” which they say is wrong.
Terramin chief executive Richard Taylor told The Advertiser: “The website is correct and the people you draw your information from are well aware of this’’.
Terramin said in a statement that it “and the company’s expert consultants will review and respond in due course’’ to the government’s response to its mining lease application.
“The questions provide an opportunity for Terramin to provide further clarification on key
points, mainly related to water management,’’ it said in a statement, which can be read in full here.
“In specific cases where the queries related to the work of Terramin’s professional consultants,
Terramin referred the commentaries back to those professionals, several of whom have been
involved in the preparation of the mining proposal for the past five years.’’
The company said it had spoken to its consultants and “confirms that the modelling as presented in the mining lease application is appropriate for the stage of development required to fulfil the Ministerial Declaration’’.
The State Government’s Department for Mining and Energy wrote to Terramin last week, saying it would give the company 12 months to respond to the matters raised in a 76-page document.
The Department said public consultation on the project received 254 public submissions. These included a major response from Accolade, as well as fellow neighbour Bird in Hand winery, which has been a vocal opponent of the project.
Crows chief executive Andrew Fagan also threw his support behind opposition to the mine, saying the Bird in Hand winery had been a long-term partner and “we support the position of Bird in Hand Winery in their endeavour to stop this project’’.
The Government’s letter, dated February 7, says Terramin’s groundwater studies contain “some assumptions that have resulted in uncertainty in the model predictions and outputs’’.
In all 138 matters have been raised for clarification by Terramin, with more than 60 related to water management.
The Department points out that, “The water requirement identified … is greater than Terramin’s current water allocation’’.
“The management plan states that Terramin have obtained binding water agreements to obtain adequate water for the life of the project.
“Evidence of stated agreements have not been provided therefore, there is uncertainty in how the water supply for the mining operation will be obtained.
“In addition to groundwater, government has raised matters in relation to the proposed mining operations; rehabilitation and closure; mine design; tailings; geotechnical engineering; noise; air; surface water; traffic; visual amenity; third party land use and land access,’’ the Department said in another letter.
The Department also has asked Terramin to provide more information on how it will mitigate the visual impact of its mine on Bird in Hand winery’s proposed $30 million upgrade.
That process ended up coming to the attention of State Parliament, when it was revealed by Kavel MP Dan Cregan that Terramin’s lawyers Botten Levinson had served documents on people associated with the Bird in Hand winery “largely just to piss the whole family off”.
Terramin subsequently apologised for that matter saying it was “shocked” and “had no role in this unfortunate behaviour’’.
Mr Taylor said the number of queries raised by the Government was “consistent with other MLA applications’’.
“The number of public responses was average for a project and low once campaign emails are adjusted for,’’ he said.
For its part, Accolade is in agreeance with Bird in Hand and other neighbouring wineries that mining and wineries cannot safely coexist in such close proximity.
“Accolade contends that the proposed mine poses an unacceptable risk and cannot coexist with the continued operation of the Petaluma winery and other existing permissible land uses in the vicinity of the Mining Lease,’’ it says in its submission.
“Any loss of access to ongoing supplies of water for irrigation has the potential for vineyard and winery operations to become non-viable. Even short periods of water unavailability can have significant impacts. In short, there is the potential to threaten the viability of vineyard assets with a 40 to 100-year life span in order to enable short term access (less than 10 years) to a gold deposit.’’
Terramin says the mine would employ 140 people directly, generating $6.4 million in salaries a year. About $34 million would be invested to build the mine with another $30 million a year spent on operating expenditure.
It has always maintained that it can manage groundwater and other issues safely and to the standards demanded by State Government regulators.