Terramin says it will appeal a court verdict upholding a decision to block Adelaide Hills mine

Mining company Terramin Australia says it will appeal a court decision which reinforced the Mining Minister’s decision to block its proposed gold mine at Bird in Hand.

The proposed mine would be adjacent to the Bird in Hand winery at Woodside.

Mining company Terramin Australia says it will appeal a Supreme Court decision which reinforced Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis’s decision to block its proposed gold mine at Bird in Hand.

A judgment was handed down in the Supreme Court on Monday dismissing the company’s application for a judicial review into the Minister’s decision, which blocked its plans to develop a gold mine adjacent to the Bird in Hand winery at Woodside.

The company has been working on the project for 15 years now, with some elements of the local community strongly opposed to the project on the grounds that it could endanger the local water supplies.

Energy and Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis blocked Terramin’s mining lease ­application in February last year, saying at the time that declining to grant the project approval was not a decision he took lightly, but he was “acutely aware of community concerns about the proposal, including from nearby wineries, residents and the local community’’.

“The area of the proposed mine is home to a world-class viticulture industry, producing some of Australia’s best-loved wines,” he said.

“Tourism to the region is a critical contributor to the local economy and, on balance, there remains a possibility this proposed short-term mine may adversely affect the established and significant long-term agricultural and tourism industries of the Woodside area immediately adjacent the project areas.’’

Terramin on Tuesday said it intended to appeal the Supreme Court ruling.

The court also upheld the Governor's reservation of the area under the Mining Act, meaning it cannot be mined, with the company saying it would appeal the court’s decision to uphold that decision also.

A spokesperson for the Minister said on Tuesday, “We will vigorously defend our position’’.

Inverbrackie Creek Catchment Group chairman Jim Franklin-McEvoy, who has been a long-time opponent of the proposed mine, said on Monday that drought years such as the current one showed how important protecting local water sources was.

Originally published as Terramin says it will appeal a court verdict upholding a decision to block Adelaide Hills mine