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Shree Minerals confident Nelson Bay River mine viable

Friday, 20 May 2016 06:59:15 | Peta Carlyon

Shree Minerals Nelson Bay River mine (Jane Ryan)

Mining company Shree Minerals is confident its Nelson Bay River mine in Tasmania's north-west is viable in the long term.

Key points:

  • Shree Minerals says it is dedicated to continuing the mine's operation
  • The company denies it is looking to abandon the mine
  • Iron ore would be ruined if returned to the pit

A court-imposed order for Shree to comply with environmental regulations to move 80,000 cubic metres of waste rock into the pit of its Tarkine mine expired last week.

The mine has been closed since 2014 after iron ore prices dropped, and Hobart-based environmental consultant for the company John Miedecke told the ABC that the ore would be ruined if it was returned to the pit.

He said the design of the current dump meant there was no risk of harmful leaching, and the company was still hopeful of resolving the standoff.

He said the dump had a metre-thick compacted clay base and other measures had been taken to prevent seepage.

"The company has told me, and I believe them, that they're dedicated to get this project up and going," he said.

"It is a magnetite mine and it has a long-term future."

Mr Miedecke said while iron ore export prices had dropped significantly, the mine had a viable long-term future in dense media magnetite which is used for coal washing.

He said speculation the owners were looking to abandon the mine was not true.

"They've told me they don't want to do that, and if they did want to do that — and I've been involved with companies that have gone into administration and receivership — it would have been done about a year, a year and a half ago," he said.

"They've made a pretty big commitment and they've funded it, and they've done pretty much everything that's been required by the EPA [Environment Protection Authority]."

Returning ore to pit would ruin it

Mr Miedecke claimed Shree was prepared to go through the entire permit process again, if talks with the State Government and its agencies failed.

But he said he believed only a minor change needed to be made to the order to satisfy both parties, and the iron ore would be ruined if it were put in the pit underwater as the court order specified.

"We've been saying to the EPA and to mines and to the Minister that to do this could well and truly sterilise the resource," he said.

"And, in fact, I know it's in contravention of the Mineral Resources Development Act, which is that you don't sterilise the resource, and that's where the hiatus has come."

In a statement, the EPA said its director Wes Ford was writing to Shree Minerals to prompt a response to an earlier letter dating back to April.

It said until a response was received, Mr Ford was "unable to comment on any further action to be taken".

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