Mine tailings have entered the Park River from the Kara Mine

Dissolved metals leaking from an open-cut mine in Tasmania’s North-West have been discharged into a river system that flows through Burnie.

Kara open cut mine, near Burnie, in North-West Tasmania, which mines tungsten, iron ore, tin and magnetite. Picture: GARY MCARTHUR

MINE processing waste water has been discharged into the Park River at the Kara Mine near Hampshire in the state’s North-West.

“There is a low risk that the river water will have low levels of dissolved metals ... and should not be used for drinking water until further notice,” the director for the Environment Protection Authority said in a statement.

“This is expected to be for several days. The river will be discoloured with clay sediment as the discharge moves down Park River and will enter the Emu River, which flows through Burnie to Bass Strait.”

EPA officers were on site Saturday working with representatives from the mine operator collecting water samples.

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The EPA said the discharge relates to a failure of a pipe transferring mine tailings to the tailings settlement dam. “Work has been undertaken to repair the pipe today and the discharge has ceased,” it said.

The EPA will continue to investigate the incident.

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