How many small villages thrive next door to large scale open cut mines?
You only have to look at villages like Wollar, Ulan, Bylong and Broke to see what happens to small communities when largescale mining developments happen on their doorstep.
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How Bowdens proposes to mitigate these impacts:
Air conditioning and double glazing.
Bunding and screening.
Limiting times and days when operations occur.
Spraying for dust suppression.
Monitoring lead levels in the community.
Investment in the community through grants and sponsorships.
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What this actually means for the people of Lue:
Having to choose between tolerating unmitigated noise and dust, or living in a fully enclosed (air conditioned) dwelling.
Living with on-going risks to health, and tolerating regular testing for lead in soil and water.
Anxiety due to risks to health, particularly affecting young people and potentially realising adverse health impacts had occurred.
Loss of many amenities of a rural way of life, including home grown food, open windows, line clothes drying.
Loss of sense of place and visual amenity.
Anxiety due to loss of property values, and inability to realise the previous capital value of homes and property because of the proximity of the mine.
Loss of permanent residents despite the fall in the property values.
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The reality:
If the mine proceeds, Lue residents will be forced to live with one or more of the following realisations:
Although the mine is proposed to operate for 15 years, Bowdens will likely apply to extend this in some form (based on their communications to investors).
No mechanism exists to ensure Lue residents are fully protected from lead particles;
No effective mechanism is in place to ensure full rehabilitation of the pit;
No way to ensure that after mining, the village will be a safe place for people to live.