zinc mine

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So, are we trading the Rainbow Serpent Dreaming for sunscreen?

Well, a zinc mine to be more specific...

Seems so, in relation to the expansion of the McArthur River zinc and lead mine in the NT, operated by Xstrata, one of the biggest mining companies in the world, based in Switzerland.

My task at the moment, is to tell the story of the Traditional Owners and to motivate you to act to stop such environmentally preposterous decisions.

The mine violates the Traditional Owners wishes, destroying sites and ecosystems that are sacred. The Native title situation is as follows:

While Traditional Owners have a Native Title claim over the mine site, they still have no formal veto rights over the new project. On meeting with many of the traditional owners in Borroloola it was clear that there were many concerns about the possible impacts of the project. In 2003, Harry Lansen, a senior traditional owner for the mine site opposed the expansion on ABC television's Stateline program saying "It is no good. I will be sick if they cut the place, because my spirit is there. All my songs are across the river.I don't want to see that thing happen in the McArthur River." (Environment Centre Northern Territory website).

Here is a picture of locals who travelled 1000 km to Darwin, to take their protest to NT's parliament:

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And here is a map showing where the site is in relation to Darwin:

I remember looking at that region on Google Earth last year (when i was overseas), and marvelling at the beautiful winding rivers in the Gulf of Carpentaria- you should look!!.

As the open-cut pit will be located at the current site of the river bed, there are big problems for the functioning of the watercourse. Here is a diagram of the proposed location of the mine:

One of the reasons why this crazy expansion decision was approved, was that John Howard put pressure on Claire Martin (the NT chief minister) in a letter that was leaked to Lateline (I think- i need to find more about this).

So, go to the Environment Centre NT's website, and take action, OR if there is an Xstrata office near you, take your complaints directly to them.