NEARLY $100,000 will be spent to rehabilitate Sunny Corner mines where levels of acid leachate and heavy metals have been detected higher than world and Australian health standards.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Member for Bathurst Gerard Martin who has been lobbying for more than two-years to fund rehabilitation of mines, said yesterday $85,000 will be spent at the Sunny Corner mine site.
Mr Martin said the Sunny Corner work is part of a $1.6 million program this year on six degraded mine sites.
"This is good news for local communities and the environment," Mr Martin said. "Local contractors and businesses also benefit from this safety program."
Sunny Corner mine was worked for gold and silver from 1865-1892 and again in 1949. Mr Martin said the Government has already spent $22,000 on site assessments and remediation.
When the site was finally closed in 1961 it was vacated without rehabilitation. The mine has subsequently been a source of pollution of Daylight Creek, according to professional assessments.
Leachate in acid mine drainage from tailings heaps and mine shafts have been found to contain highly acid water and substantial concentrations of heavy metal contaminants.
Full story in the Western Advocate.
