Residents in Whitsundays village of Dittmer say ‘no’ to Ballymore mining lease

In the small Whitsundays village of Dittmer, a fresh faced mining company wants to swoop in and secure a gold deposit, but its residents aren’t willing to go down without a fight. DETAILS.

A mining company has faced stiff resistance from a rural community after announcing it’s intentions to reopen a historic gold mine.

A young mining company eager to prove there are still untapped rivers of gold in a long-abandoned mine, and a small Queensland town worried they’ll pay the price are set to clash over the return of historic gold mine.

The Whitsundays town of Dittmer, once at threat of becoming a ‘ghost’ town after the closure of its 1940s-era gold mine, is now home to some 80 residents, who mostly work in farming.

But Ballymore Resources, a mining company set up in 2019 leveraging the expertise of director David A-Izzeddin in copper and gold exploration, is pushing for the re-opening of the mine.

After 13 years of exploration, and 28 successful drill tests, Ballymore is confident it has unearthed rich veins of previously undiscovered gold in the mine.

Local counsellor Jeudi Croker has led her communities response against Ballymore's development.

Jeudi Croker, Dittmer resident of almost 50 years and social worker and art therapist, has galvanised the community against the mine and started a petition protesting its development.

“I was born in Dittmer, and have been here for most of my life; my family still lives here having lived through the noise and the environmental aftermath of the last gold mine.” Ms Croker said.

According to Ms Croker, previous mismanagement of the mine’s environmental impact had damaged the land and contaminated Kelsey Creek.

Setting up an inevitable clash, Ballymore has submitted an application to amend their exploration permit, also known as an environmental authority (EA), to include a mining lease in August 2023.

Water wars

Dittmer residents primarily get their water from bores which could be under threat of contamination by increased drilling operations, the residents warn.

“We don’t have town facilities, sewerage or town water,” Ms Croker said.

“Dittmer is not on town water; all 79 residents rely solely on private bores; which are fed by Kelsey Creek and underground Fractured Rock Aquifers.”

She stressed that chemicals and run-off from gold mining were likely to “seep” back into the water table.

According to Miss Croker “Dittmer, in the Proserpine State Forest; is an environmentally significant and sensitive area with Kelsey Creek falling into both the Great Barrier Reef and Peter Faust Dam (drinking water for Whitsundays) catchments”.

She pointed out ‘Kelsey Creek is the headwaters of Kelsey and Lethebrook Agricultural Hub; and then flows to Great Barrier Reef”.

The Ballymore application said “the resource (gold) will be removed via standard underground techniques, thereby minimising surface area disturbances” but did not outline water contamination prevention measures or take into account underground water sources.

Situated on the proposed site is Kelsey Creek, a vital water source for the residents of Dittmer and agricultural properties, which runs into waterways that connect to the reef.

The proposed site of drilling directly borders the hamlet of Dittmer and has part of Kelsey Creek present on the proposed mine site.

The Whitsundays Conservation Council, a charity group that advocates for conservation of the Great Barrier Reef and other environs in the Greater Whitsundays, called the Ballymore application “unacceptable” in an objection made to the state government.

A Department of Environment, Science and Innovation spokesman said that they were currently assessing the application from Ballymore and would “thoroughly assess the application to ensure it meets strict legislative and environmental standards”.

They also clarified that a separate investigation was ongoing regarding the construction of an access track which residents allege was built by Ballymore without permission from any government body.

Ms Croker alleged “Kilometres of Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES) and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) essential habitat and vegetation was cleared; on this weir road with no erosion and sediment barriers constructed; with the clay waterways eroding directly into Kelsey Creek.”

Wildlife and roads

The area is home to koalas, northern quolls, greater gliders and the Proserpine rock wallaby, all of which are endangered.

We asked Ballymore what measures they planned to take to relocate these animals and ensure minimal impact on their population, but they were unable to provide us with information at this time.

Residents are also greatly concerned about access to the proposed mine site, which be via “public sealed and unsealed roads and private unsealed farm access tracks”.

The road that services Dittmer is a single lane, dirt road.

According to the application this road will be where extracted gold ore will be transported from the mine and to a processing facility.

We asked Ballymore whether they would be creating new roads and infrastructure to support the mine and transport of materials, they were unable to provide us with an answer at this time.

Ballymore Technical Director David A-Izzeddin is one of the leading figures in the development of the Dittmer Project.

What Ballymore Resources could tell us

In response to this publication’s questions, Ballymore Technical Director David A-Izzeddin said, “Ballymore takes its environmental obligations seriously and has always complied with the legislative requirements of its exploration activities which are currently considered early stage and are focused on a historic underground mine.”

“We are committed to continuing to work with the state and federal government agencies, local regional councils and community members to ensure we earn the trust of all stakeholders and maximise the benefits for the region.”

Close up of visible gold from Dittmer mine. Photo: Ballymore

After over 13 years of successful exploration, Ballymore appears to have every intention of proceeding with this development.

It remains to be seen if they will perform further environmental impact assessments, taking bore water and potential impact on the reef into account.

“We encourage feedback because we recognise that better outcomes follow greater engagement.”

The residents of Dittmer have started a petition on change.org.

As of writing, the village of 977 people has signed, its initial coal of 500+ signatures almost doubled.