Devil in the detail as Tarkine iron ore mine reactivated, Bob Brown vows fight
Mining in Tasmania’s Tarkine is back on the agenda, with a reactivating iron ore mine seeking to axe protections for the Tasmanian devil.
Mining in Tasmania’s Tarkine is back on the agenda, with a reactivating iron ore mine seeking to axe protections for the Tasmanian devil amid claims about the validity of its permit.
Venture Minerals is preparing to start the stalled mine at Riley Creek, near Tullah, in Tasmania’s northwest, after a $4m equity raising and strong iron ore prices. The Perth-based company has applied to amend its original 2013 federal environmental approval to scrap a ban on trucking ore between dusk and dawn.
This measure was imposed primarily out of concern for the nocturnal, endangered Tasmanian devil, a species highly susceptible to roadkill and already decimated by a tumour disease.
The Bob Brown Foundation says there are doubts about the validity of the mine permit, after the company appeared to change its position on whether operations had “substantially commenced”.
The about-face by the company in July last year saw it fined $25,200 for failing to meet permit conditions triggered by substantial commencement, including payments to a Tasmanian devil fund.
However, the move kept alive the company’s permit, which in the absence of substantial commencement would otherwise have been deemed to have expired in September last year.
“In four annual compliance reports to the Department of Environment, and in at least nine separate statements to the ASX, Venture Minerals has stated that they did not commence extraction of ore,” said BBF Tarkine campaigner Scott Jordan.
“Now when faced with expiry of their permits for not commencing extraction, they claim they did extract 10,000 tonnes of ore, providing salvation to their permits. Both statements can’t be true.”
The issue may end up in court, as may whatever decision the federal government makes on Venture’s new application to scrap the dusk-to-dawn truck curfew. Documents show the company is seeking to replace the requirement with the installation of “virtual fencing technology” at roadkill hot spots.
This technology sets off alarms, triggered by headlights, to scare away animals as vehicles approach.
However, Mr Jordan said its use on windy roads, without a clear line of sight, was less effective and Environment Minister Sussan Ley should reassess impacts on devils before granting any change.
Venture Minerals chief executive Andrew Radonjic defended the push to remove the truck curfew, rejecting BBF assertions about the validity of its permit. “We are acutely aware Tasmanians want us to operate in a manner that does not adversely impact on the Tasmanian devil population, so the company is looking to implement f proven measures to ensure their safety,” he said.
A department spokeswoman said it found Venture had “contravened conditions” of is approval “by not notifying the department of the actual date of commencement … and by not contributing funds to the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program”.
