PM backs in Minns over gold mine: ‘There’s nothing to stop it’

The Prime Minister said on Tuesday he backs a $1bn gold mine in central western NSW despite an eleventh hour decision by his government throwing serious doubts over the project’s future.

The Prime Minister has said he backs a $1bn gold mine despite an eleventh hour decision by his government throwing serious doubts over the project’s future.

On Tuesday, Anthony Albanese said he’d like to see the proposed McPhillamy’s gold mine in the state’s central west “go ahead”, adding “there was nothing to stop it”.

“Chris Minns would like it to go ahead, I’d like it to go ahead too, there’s nothing to stop it,” Mr Albanese said.

“What has happened is a decision based upon a tailing dam and there are other options that the company put forward on the tailing dam.”

When asked if the last minute decision to block the project on Indigenous heritage grounds was a political move by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, Mr Albanese said “no”, before stating “the mine has not been opposed”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the Western Sydney International Airport on Tuesday. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

“The mine has not been opposed, what we are talking about is a tailing dam,” he said.

“The company itself put forward a range of options that are considered, and they should work to ensure the project can go ahead

“They themselves had other options for the tailing dam, they found them and identified them.”

The future of the proposed gold mine in Blayney, south of Orange, has opened up an extraordinary split between the state and federal governments, with Premier Minns declaring he is “hopeful” of throwing operator Regis Resources a lifeline.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that Natural Resources Minister Courtney Houssos will today meet with Regis Resources CEO Jim Beyer to thrash out ideas for a way forward, after federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek blocked the $1 billion project on Indigenous heritage grounds.

While Ms Plibersek has rebuffed invitations to front to Orange and explain why she made a last minute “declaration of protection” over part of the McPhillamys mine site, Mr Beyer will now appear at the Telegraph’s Bush Summit on Thursday to discuss the future of the $1bn mine.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek defended her impending absence from the Telegraph’s Bush Summit on Thursday, claiming she has “engagements on Thursday and they are long-standing.” 

“Well I’ve been to the Bush Summit, I went to the opening night in Townsville and the following day in Townsville and I’ve been to the Bush Summit in years past,” she said.

“I’ve got engagements on Thursday and they’re long-standing.” 

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek on Tuesday.

She later addressed questions about the McPhillamys mine site, clarifying that her decision does not affect the gold mine and suggesting that relocating the tailings dam would solve the issue.

“I’ve just reminded you that my decision does not apply to the gold mine. The gold mine can go ahead as long as they’re prepared to relocate the Tailing Dam so it doesn’t permanently destroy the river,” Ms Plibersek said. 

“The company itself has said that they investigated four different sites for the Tailing Dam with 30 different design proposals. 

“The company has said that there is a billion dollars worth of gold in the ground. I think if there’s $7 billion worth of gold in the ground and they’ve got four alternate sites that can be looked at, then perhaps it’s in their interest to take up the NSW government’s offer to help them design a new talons dam location that does not permanently destroy a river.”

Speaking for the first time since the decision on Monday, Mr Minns said he was “disappointed” in that decision, describing the mine as “critical for the state’s economic growth and opportunity”.

He said the mine had already passed through the state’s planning system, and Ms Plibersek’s decision had come as a surprise.

Premier Chris Minns said he was “disappointed” that the federal government had blocked the McPhillamys gold mine. Picture Thomas Lisson

“It had been approved by various government departments, we were expecting it to go ahead,” he said.

“Gold and critical minerals in New South Wales are very important for the state’s economic growth for opportunities. We’re under enormous pressure when it comes to coal exports in particular,” he said.

Mr Minns said his government has been working with the operators since the commonwealth government blocked the mine, in an attempt to find a new location for the mine’s waste.

Natural Resources Minister Courtney Houssos will meet with Regis Resources CEO Jim Beyer on Tuesday. Picture: NewsWire

“I’m hopeful that we can talk to the operator of that mine and see whether we can get it up and running with a different tailing,” he said.

“We haven’t had a breakthrough there, but it’s critical for the state’s economic growth and opportunity.”

He added on 2GB on Tuesday: “We’re hopeful that there’s a modification of the development application which means that there can be hopefully, and I’m not promising this, but expedited approval because a billion-dollar mine, thousands of jobs and a massive opportunity for the state”.

Regis Resources has now been sent back to the drawing board, after working for years to find an appropriate site to store waste and by-products.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is now under pressure to front to The Daily Telegraph’s Bush Summit in Orange on Thursday. Picture: Liam Kidston

Last week, CEO Jim Beyer was pessimistic on finding another location for the mine’s waste, saying it could take up to 10 years to find an alternative.

“We now have nothing else as a viable alternative that’s anywhere near being able to be considered to be appropriate. It will take us many years of work,” he told Sky News.

“We don’t have a clear option. We only have all we have is time, frankly, then and we’re going to need lots of it,” Mr Beyer said.

Mr Beyer will meet with the NSW Minister responsible for resources on Tuesday, to thrash out potential options for moving forward with a new tailings dam site.

Coalition Environment spokesman Jonno Duniam said he would be happy to fill in for Ms Plibersek at the Bush Summit. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Even if a new site could be found, it is likely that Regis Resources would need to go through another lengthy approvals process, delaying the project by years.

Writing in today’s Telegraph, NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee accused Ms Plibersek of ignoring years of work by the state government with her last minute protection declaration.

“The entire debacle stinks of an utterly rotten decision-making process,” he said.

“Local communities like Blayney and Orange have lost a rigorously assessed mining project that had been approved by the NSW Government and would have delivered over 800 local jobs.”

Coalition environment spokesman Jonno Duniam said he would be happy to step up at the Bush Summit in Orange to hear out local community concerns about the cancellation of the mine project if Ms Plibersek would not.

“The whole community deserves to be heard and, unlike Labor, the Coalition will listen,” he said.

Originally published as PM backs in Minns over gold mine: ‘There’s nothing to stop it’