By MATT NICHOLLS
ENVIRONMENTAL issues that plagued the Hillgrove mine appear to be in the past, according to Guyra-based MLC Scot MacDonald.
The Liberal Party representative toured the mine last week and said he was convinced that the new owners would do the right thing by the regional community and the environment.
“I know there had been some environmental issues in the past, especially when the mine was in maintenance mode, but having a working mine can only be a good thing,” Mr MacDonald said.
“When the mine is up and running you have the resources to be able to deal with any issues that may arise.”
Bracken Resources chief executive Roger Jackson said more than $2 million had been spent to fix previous issues.
“One of the major concerns people had was the leakage of storm water into the environment, which would then end up in the Macleay River,” he said.
“We’ve spent money on microfiltration and a reverse osmosis plant that will help deal with such issues.”
Mr Jackson said he could understand why local residents would be sceptical about his company, as Hillgrove mine had changed hands several times in the past decade, but reaffirmed his commitment to investing at Hillgrove.
“When we paid $30 million for the mine we got a good deal, but we also had to pay a massive bond to the government that protects the community,” he said.
“That bond is to be used in case the mine was to shut down again, something that wasn’t really enforced with the last owners.”
Mr MacDonald said he could understand why many people were anti-mining in Australia, but said Hillgrove’s operation was completely different to coal mining or coal-seam gas mining.
“You have to understand that Australia has the best techniques in the world and the process is now very technical,” he said.
“It appears the new owners at Hillgrove are determined to be safe and I think we should support them.”
