Gold miner Regis Resources attacks decision to block McPhillamys project in NSW

Gold miner Regis Resources says Australia has become a less attractive place to invest after the Albanese government’s decision to block its flagship McPhillamys project in NSW.

The entrance to McPhillamys Gold Project in NSW, which Regis Resources now says is unviable.

Gold miner Regis Resources says Australia has become a less ­attractive place to invest after the Albanese government’s decision to block its flagship McPhillamys project in NSW.

Regis reported heavy losses on the back of Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s decision last week, on cultural protection grounds, to prevent a tailings dam for the mine being built near the headwaters of the Belubula River.

Perth-based Regis on Thursday said it made an annual net loss of $186m, compared to a deficit of $24.3m in the year earlier, largely on the back of a writedown of the McPhillamys project that it says is no longer viable. The miner recorded a noncash impairment of $192m against the value of McPhillamys, which has an estimated reserve of 2.02 million ounces and was expected to create hundreds of jobs.

Regis chief executive officer Jim Beyer said the decision “does make us a bit more wary” about investment decisions in Australia. Mr Beyer told analysts the company was considering its legal options over the decision.

“There used to be parts of the world that we would not consider because of the sovereign risk and where things could be flipped for no reason,” Mr Beyer said. “We did not think it could happen here. We will still consider Australia but it has certainly affected the attractiveness and we have to now consider sovereign risk in some parts of the country.”

The site on the Belubula River proposed for the tailings dam.

Regis has invested more than $150m on exploration, scientific studies and design reviews for McPhillamys since purchasing the reserve in 2012. Mr Beyer said there was overwhelming community support for the mine, about 8km from Blayney in the NSW Central West, because of its job creation potential.

“Unfortunately, there will be significant impact on livelihoods,” he said. “It would have brought ­opportunity, training, education and a future. That has now disappeared and is stressful for a lot of people.”

Explaining her decision, Ms Plibersek said the Wiradjuri/­Wiradyuri people, who traditionally lived in the area had significant spiritual and cultural connections to the headwaters of the Belubula River. “The headwaters are of particular significance to Wiradjuri/Wiradyuri people,” Ms Plibersek said.

She said the decision “is not to stop the mine”, saying: “Protecting cultural heritage and development are not mutually exclusive. We can have both.”

Mr Beyer said the decision had made the project in its current form unviable, possibly pushing it back a decade. “To advance any form of realistic and approvable alternative TSF (Tailing Storage Facility) solution requires further extensive investigations and studies, along with the restart of the state and federal approvals processes,” he said.

Whitehaven Coal CEO Paul Flynn on Thursday said his company’s own projects had been ­affected by “green and red tape”.

Whitehaven announced the sale of a 30 per cent stake in its Blackwater metallurgical steel operations, with Nippon Steel saying it was buying into the asset because of concerns that royalty increases in Australia would deter investment in new mines.

Additional reporting: Cameron England

Originally published as Gold miner Regis Resources attacks decision to block McPhillamys project in NSW