A sea of placards gathered at the steps of the Proserpine Courthouse last week, with local protestors conducting a demonstration to express their frustration that a Mining Lease Application had been granted for Dittmer Gold Mine without impact assessments being addressed.
Shortly afterward, the Whitsunday Conservation Council released a statement outlining the desperate need for better environmental safety measures.
“It is unacceptable that an application to have an EA approval granted in 2010 extended to cover the proposed mining project MLA 100351 for an additional fifteen years without requiring new impact assessments addressing threats to water quality, flora and fauna, including endangered and threatened species, and environmental nuisance issues for the residents of the small village of Dittmer,” said the statement.
“The site is situated in the Proserpine Catchment area. The water from this area provides drinking water for Dittmer residents, drains to the Proserpine Dam which provides drinking water to residents of Whitsunday and irrigation for agriculture, and finally drains to the waters of the Great Barrier Reef.
“The site is also identified as within a Statewide Biodiversity Corridor, habitat for the Endangered Proserpine Rock Wallaby, Northern Quoll, and Greater Glider, along with endangered and vulnerable plant species, Koala habitat, MSES wildlife habitat, MSES regulated vegetation (essential habitat), and the Proserpine State Forest.”
Dittmer Mine is located approximately 20 kilometres west of Proserpine and was first discovered in 1934, producing over 54,000 oz of gold by the time it closed in 1951.
Four years ago, Ballymore Resources started to explore the area once again, with initial works revealing a number of high-grade shoots, and the opportunity to mine for gold in the area has resurfaced.
Further drilling and exploration commenced in 2024, but extraction is yet to take place.
Ballymore Resources states that they are “committed to doing what we can to limit our environmental impact. This includes removing leftover material from the project’s previous operations, using already established tracks, and minimising our surface footprint through underground operations.”
“If extraction does take place in the future, we will use the available best-practice extraction methods and work with the local community and government organisations to ensure we meet all our environmental and legislative obligations,” the company stated.
The spokesperson added that they will work with the local community and government organisations to ensure they meet all environmental and legislative obligations.
“We take our responsibility to the environment surrounding the mine site very seriously and are committed to having minimal environmental impact in the area.
“We have complied with all state legislation throughout the application process.”
In addition, a significant residual impact assessment was completed by an independent third party and submitted to the Department of Environment, Science, and Innovation as part of the MLA process.
“We have also conducted several hydrogeological and surface water studies and submitted them as part of the lease application,” they said.
“These studies form the basis of our environmental management plan, which includes ongoing monitoring and assessment of the environmental values of the site.”
Concerned community members protest what they believe are inadequate environmental impact assessments at the Dittmer Gold Mine. Photo supplied.
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