Natalie Lowrey
"Lake Cowal is our heartland and we'll never give up fighting for it, or let go of our culture ... They tell us gold will be poured soon, but we are keeping up our campaign here and overseas." These fighting words are from Wiradjuri elder, Neville Williams, now in his fifth year of a campaign against the goldmine on the edge of Lake Cowal in central west NSW.
The Wiradjuri traditional owners, supported by the Indigenous Justice Advocacy Network, the Coalition to Protect Lake Cowal, Rainforest Information Centre, Peacebus.com and Friends of the Earth, have called a protest at Lake Cowal, April 14-17, to stop an open-pit, cyanide leaching goldmine. The campaign started in 1997.
Lake Cowal is an ephemeral lake in the triangle formed by the towns of West Wyalong, Condobolin and Forbes. It is presently dry, but when filled it becomes the biggest inland lake in NSW, supporting an estimated 400,000 birds. Some 172 species breed there including internationally protected migratory waders from China and Japan.
This contentious goldmine is owned and operated by the world's largest goldmining company, Barrick Gold. Despite pending court cases regarding the mine's legitimacy, breaches in environmental safety standards and the NSW state government's unwillingness to release the cyanide transportation route, the mine started operations at the beginning of April. According to Williams, the NSW government and the company "never received permission" from the traditional owners. More than 6000 tonnes of cyanide per year will be trucked from the Orica manufacturing plant in Gladstone, Queensland, 1600 kilometres north of Lake Cowal for the 13-year lifespan of the mine.
Corporate greed, environmental plunder and racism are the hallmarks of Barrick and its predecessor's push for the gold mine. They did not properly consult with the region's Indigenous owners and stole up to 10,000 stone artefacts. This nationally significant site is under greater threat now the mine is open.
But with more than 6000 tonnes of cyanide per year to be transported to the mine from Gladstone, it's not just the sacred lands of the Wiradjuri Nation that are under threat. Many other communities and waterways along the route are also at risk. Sodium cyanide is lethal: a 10 ml teaspoon of a 2% solution will kill an adult.
According to Graeme Dunstan of Cyanide Watch, "The transport of these huge tonnages of cyanide represents a major hazard to other road users, communities and water ways along the route". Cyanide Watch will launch their campaign to monitor the route the cyanide will be travelling at the Easter Rain Corroboree. "Citizens have a right to know the scale and the nature of the hazard their government has committed them to. We are demanding the minister make information about cyanide routes public knowledge."
There is already enough gold stockpiled for the world's needs. At least 80% of mined gold is used for jewellery. Up to 35,000 tonnes of gold lies in the vaults of central reserve banks, and at places like Fort Knox in the US. Gold can be recycled. It takes 18 tonnes of earth, generating 12 cubic metres of tailings, to produce enough gold for an average wedding band. Australia already has many goldmines. Do we really need any more?
[Natalie Lowrey is the national liaison officer for Friends of the Earth, Australia. For more information, visit From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, April 12, 2006.
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