During the Hillside mining operations the risk to our water quality through contamination is of major concern. The waste rock, tailings dam, walls of the pit and underground mine all contribute to the formation of sulphuric acid which is likely to seep into the ground water and eventually into the sea.

The potential for direct run off from the acid soils and copper related minerals after heavy rain will always be a threat to the gulf.

Buried ore slurry pipes are also at risk!  No mining company should be burying  pipelines containing toxic materials as leak monitors are unreliable at best.

Why do hydrological water models used by REX only investigate the first 200m of ground water when the mine will go down to nearly 700m? Do we want mine water entering the aquifer and the sea as a result of REX’s cost saving measures?

We already have a report of a local farmer losing 2m of groundwater from his bore while REX were investigating flow rates on their interceptor bores at Hillside.

REX are proposing to use approx.1.7 million litres per day of Murray water for the life of the mine! Remember when we weren’t  allowed to water our lawns?

The total amount of water used at their plant will be over 17 million litres per day, most of which will be removed from the groundwater.

The potential for a major ecological disaster with a mine of this size so close to the gulf should be of real concern to the residents of YP.