A Chinese state mining giant is preparing to build a massive dam in one of Australia’s most pristine wilderness areas to contain ‘toxic sludge’.
MMG bought the Rosebery mine on the border of the Tarkine rainforest in northwestern Tasmania in 2009 metals important to industries such as aerospace and national defense.
The Beijing-backed company wants to turn 140 hectares – the size of 200 football fields – of the rainforest dubbed ‘Australia’s Amazon’ into a 48-metre high concrete lake to hold are mining waste products called tailings.
Protesters, including former Greens leader Bob Brown, are outraged by the plans and say Australia must rally to stop it.
A Chinese state mining giant is preparing to build a massive dam in one of Australia’s most pristine wilderness areas to contain ‘toxic sludge’. Pictured: Flags at the Rosebery mine in Tasmania
“We are going to defend this forest to the hilt,” he said Channel 7 spotlight program on Sunday.
“They can have their mine, we’ll have our forest… It’s one of the most beautiful places on earth.”
The retired politician, who was born in NSW but has lived in Tasmania since 1972, said there is “only a small percentage of exploiters” who want to expand mining in places where it would cause major environmental damage.
“Increasingly, in Beijing or somewhere abroad, they are making mega dollars by destroying places they have no relationship with,” he said.
With global demand for zinc and copper at an all-time high, MMG is desperate to expand the Rosebery mine.
Local man Kevin Mathewson said the area faces economic devastation, including the loss of up to 550 jobs if not allowed.
“If they don’t have a place to store their waste, they have to close the mine. It’s that simple,” he said.
But dr. Brown denied that he is against mining and is not trying to stop MMG’s mine.
MMG’s waste facility has leaked into the Pieman River 18 times since 2018. Rosebery mine is pictured
Protesters, including former Greens leader Bob Brown, are outraged by the plans and say Australia must rally to stop it
“We’re just saying keep mining on your side of the river. Don’t throw your rubbish here in the Tarkine.’
MMG’s waste facility has leaked into the Pieman River 18 times since 2018, but the mine’s managing director Steve Scott is confident it is safe and said the frosty relationship between Australia and China plays no part in the operation of the mine.
“It’s important to have a voice on the mining side of things,” he said. “We don’t see external pressure and geopolitical issues every day at Rosebery.”
He added, “My sites don’t last forever. We only need (the tailings dam) for the time we are here.’
“We need to find a balance between jobs and their economics, but also solar energy and wind turbines, we contribute to that (through the metals that are mined in Rosebery).”
Mr Scott said he would not want to be involved ‘in a place where I thought we were doing something bad’.
Chinese mining company MGM wants to build a dam in Tasmania’s Tarkine Forest (pictured).
The Rosebery mine (pictured) in Tasmania employs 550 people and is looking to expand
But if the federal government allows a new dam to be built, according to Dr Brown, hundreds of acres of rainforest, which are home to some of Australia’s most endangered species, such as the Tasmanian devil, would be at risk.
“If the Albanian government continues to flood this place, it will become a barrel of acid. You wouldn’t put your finger in it and nothing can live in it,” he said.
Although he is now 78 years old, Dr. Brown is ready to camp out in the woods to save it.
“I packed my little tent, I got my bag ready, they will (try to) kill this forest, but they will have to remove many of us in the process,” he said.
As they prepare for the battle that may be coming, protesters have already set up camp in the rainforest, including some taking up dangerous positions on meters-high trees.
One is Dr. Lisa Searle, who said that people who visit the Tarkine always say, ‘I feel alive, I can breathe’ when they first experience it.
‘Forests like this are becoming increasingly rare worldwide. There needs to be a lot more recognition of the natural value of leaving these places alone, rather than just seeing what we can get out of them,” she said.
Dr. Searle is in for the long haul. “I’m not going to stop and we’re not going anywhere. We’re going to fight to the very last tree.’
Bob Brown said hundreds of acres of rainforest, home to some of Australia’s most endangered species, such as the Tasmanian devil (pictured), are at risk
Dr. Brown said the Labor government is not doing enough. ‘I think the Australians are increasingly shocked… and they want our government to arbitrate on behalf of the Tarkine.
“When will we get an environment minister who will say: ‘I’m going to fight for the environment, I’ll fight for it all the way to the cabinet.'”
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek declined to appear on the programme, but a spokesperson issued a statement saying: ‘The Australian Government will make its own independent decision as to whether or not to approve this project.’
That’s not enough for Dr. Brown and his fellow protesters.
“We have no right to expect the Brazilians to protect the Amazon or the Indonesians to protect the orangutans if we don’t protect this little beautiful rainforest here in Australia,” he said.