Concerns have continued to be raised by a group of Stawell residents over the safety of a tailings dam at Stawell Gold Mine.
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The tailings dam came under scrutiny in December, during a tour of the facility.
Members of the mine’s environment review committee were invited to join mine staff as well as Victoria Police and Earth Resources for a tour of the tailings storage facility to discuss emergency management plans.
Committee members had previously raised concerns about the dam’s stability during severe natural disasters.
Following the tour, Stawell Gold Mines general manager Troy Cole said the company acknowledged the community interest and concerns surrounding the dam and advised that the tailings facility was safe.
Despite the statement released by Mr Cole immediately following the tour, allaying any safety fears, residents have once again raised safety concerns.
A spokesperson for the concerned residents made particular mention of a Clean Up Notice that had been issued to the mining company by the Environment Protection Authority in November last year.
The Clean Up Notice relates to the management of off-site pollution from the tailings storage dam.
The residents has questioned why the EPA or the company had not notified the community of the notice.
“Off-site contamination of both the Shallow Aquifer and lower Fractured Bedrock Aquifer was found to contain the by-products of Cyanide which is used by the company to process gold,” she said.
“Stawell Gold Mines have not advised the community of the additional chemical plant discussed in the Clean Up Notice and when they would fund this work.
“EPA have acted in their oversight role because the pollution has extended beyond the mine boundary and may have effected beneficial uses of the aquifer, usually Earth Resources Regulation have the primary role for regulation of the mines activity within the mine site.
“We are questioning why the company has applied for an additional mining licence over that area of land where pollution has been detected, without an obvious intent to carry out mining activity on this land.”
A statement released by the concerned residents indicate that the mine tailings dam, at 119 hectares, is one of the largest in Victoria and contains around 30 million tonnes of mine waste.
The eastern dam wall is approximately 30 metres in height. The company reported to the National Pollution Inventory that for 2014 they placed 2,100 tonnes of Arsenic and 110 tonnes of Cyanide into the tailings dam.
”The amount of Arsenic and Cyanide by product stored in the tailings dam qualify the tailings dam as a Major Hazard Facility and residents are concerned that it has not been listed as such,” the statement said.
“The size and height of the tailings dam require that the structural integrity of the Dam Wall be managed under the National ANCOLD protocol for large storage dams.
“This protocol requires the mining company to organise an annual inspection but residents believe this inspection should be carried out by a qualified person independent of the company.”
Residents have also expressed concern about the risks of structural failure of the dam wall for those residing downstream.
“The current mining act and an associated regulation “Management of Tailings Storage Facilities” require mining companies to prepare several strategies for management of Tailings Dams.
“This includes the establishment of Emergency Services procedures for warning and evacuation of downstream residents,” the spokesperson said.
“A recent query of the Northern Grampians Shire revealed that documentation required to be held by the shire as part of the Emergency Services procedure did not exist. It is understood that evacuation procedures have never been provided to residents that would be in an evacuation zone.”
The spokesperson said there needed to be a proper warning system in place as well to alert residents in the event of any emergency.
“We believe the people of Stawell should be made aware of what emergency management procedures are in place should an emergency situation such as such as a failure or rupture of the dam wall occur.”