Painted protesters march against NT’s McArthur River zinc mine ‘pollution’

Protesters opposed to one of the world’s largest zinc mines have painted their faces white and called for an end to what they say is destruction of their local environment.

People from the Borroloola area in remote eastern Northern Territory marched this morning in protest against the nearby McArthur River zinc mine in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Waste rock at the Swiss-owned mine had been smouldering for several months and people from the area said they were worried about potentially toxic smoke plumes in the air and acidic run off into the river.

Borroloola is about 70 kilometres from the mine and 970 kilometres south-east of Darwin.

Elders and people from the four clan groups of Borroloola met at the Markirra (White Ochre) Kangaroo Dreaming site, which they say is threatened by the mining operation.

Jack Green, a senior elder from the area, said his people wanted to sit down and talk with the mine’s operator, Xstrata, a subsidiary of Swiss-based Glencore.

“We’re really worried about it. It’s very important to Aboriginal people – not only Aboriginal people, important to pastoralist and tourists that come down here do their fishing and that. It’s sort of like a garden to all Australia,” he said.

“This land lies all our sacred sites, our dreaming lies all over this area. We want land to be looked after more better for our future kids. They want a land where they can go out and hunt and learn more about cultures.

“We’ll do a short one (protest) in town and then we’ll sit around and do a bit of dancing and things like that. Anyone wants to comes along and find out we welcome to sit down and talk to them.”

Mr Green said he was concerned about the impact mining had on the nearby waterways.

“We’re worried about the fish and the river, the water that runs down the McArthur.”

Gadrian Hoosan, a Karrwa custodian from the area, said the action was part of an “ancient fight to keep the land healthy for all of our children, black and white, in unity with the four clans”.

David Morris from the NT Environmental Defender’s Office called on McArthur River Mining to be “open and honest” about health impacts from water and air pollution around its Borroloola site.

The Environmental Protection Authority this week issued the mine a notice to carry out an environmental audit.

“We’re very concerned on behalf of our clients about issues of health and also issues of environmental health and damage to the surrounding environment. One of my clients described it as a man-made volcano and that’s certainly how it appeared when I was in Borroloola recently,” Mr Morris said.

Mr Green said he was worried for future generations.

“This land lies all our sacred sites, our dreaming lies all over this area. We want land to be looked after more better for our future kids. They want a land where they can go out and hunt and learn more about cultures.”

Xstrata admits long fight against combustion

In July the mine’s operator Xstrata said it was trying to extinguish the smoke plumes but admitted that could take two years to achieve.

It said the mine’s rock pile began combusting in December 2013 when pyrite iron sulphide was dumped on its top layers.

When the volatile mineral met oxygen while covered over by other rocks it started igniting in oven-like conditions and now constantly belched from the mine’s waste rock pile.

Xstrata had been trying to manage the problem by coating the rocks with lime and clay.

It said it had managed to stop combustion of new pyrite waste rock it is depositing into the waste rock site by layering it in much shallower tiers and immediately covering them with clay.

Xstrata said it discharges no water from its site into surrounding waterways “except under approved conditions” and all discharges meet Australian water quality standards.

It said monitoring showed fish from McArthur River and nearby Surprise Creek were safe to eat.