The building of a massive new iron ore mine is being proposed on the doorstep of Western Australia’s magnificent Karijini National Park.
Rio Tinto has proposed that a 35 million tonnes per annum mine called Koodaideri be set up 110km west-northwest of Newman, 130km northeast of Tom Price … and less than 23km from Karijini.
If the plan is approved, construction could begin as early as next year. Up to 2,000 people would be required in the building phase while 700 workers would initially be needed for the mine’s operation. A total of 300 more people would be needed by 2030 to cope with a proposed increase in production to 70mtpa.
A new 167 kilometre piece of rail would be needed to connect the mine to Rio’s Dampier-Tom Price railway, and new roads, power and water infrastructure would also be required.
In an environmental review, concerns were raised about potential disturbances to asbestos-contaminated land near Wittenoom, as well as the environmental impacts Koodaideri may have on Karijini. The environmental report states it is unclear how the proposed mine’s operations would impact on Karijini’s roosting population of the orange leaf nosed bat, but it notes that up to 166 hectares of land considered critical to the survival of the Northern Quoll would need to be cleared.
The proposed mine is also close to Mungaroona Range Nature Reserve, Millstream-Chichester National Park, and internationally important wetland, the Fortescue Marsh.
The Australian newspaper reports that it would however not be the closest mining project to Karijini. Rio’s Marandoo mine is situated between the northern and southern halves of the park and it can be seen clearly from Mount Bruce, WA’s second-highest mountain, which is within the park.
The public has been asked to comment on the plan with the review period scheduled to close on September 2. After the Environmental Protection Authority has then assessed the proposal, the final decision as to whether the mine should proceed will be made by the state’s Environment Minister, Albert Jacob..
Do large mining operations change the atmosphere around some of Australia’s great ‘remote’ beauty spots? How have they affected your trip? Are these major economically beneficial mining projects a good thing … or is the price of progress too high? Comment below.
I’d like to know what is the rush for these mining companies/persons to sell every last kilogram of this resource as if it will never run out. I believe that in 20 years time iron ore will still be needed, the price will be 20 times what it is today and BHP/Rio Tinto/ TInkler/Gina etc will not have any left. They’ll be long dead and we will not have a resource to sell and Kevin will say, “Hi, my name’s Kevin. I’m here to help you.”
Have a look at an aerial photo or fly over the West Australian Mining region. It is basically very small. There is most likely enough minerals in the the ground for the next 500 years.