unknownsa journal

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Tuesday, December 4, 2012 mining in reserves - the state of play
South Australia showing all current and historical mineral and petroleum tenements - somewhere under there is the state's reserve system!Mining in reserves in SA - the state of playLet's take a short tour through the state of South Australia, looking at the current situation regarding the mining industry's access to its reserve system - the national and conservation parks, game and regional reserves, and other flavours of protected area

(All these maps were created using SARIG - the South Australian Resources Information Geoserver - an excellent tool for desktop research. The whole set of images can be viewed in sequence as a slideshow, with a more extended and detailed commentary, on my Flickr site.)

Firstly, the good news - here's the fully protected areas:

The olive-drab areas are those parts of the reserve system from which the mining industry is completely excluded. The special area that fully-protects the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary is visible as the irregular red area immediately north of the fully-protected Vulkathunha/Gammon Ranges National Park east of Leigh CreekFully protected areas (olive drab) are shown above, as are areas excluded from the Mining Act (in red). Some of the latter are mines themselves(!), but one, I'm pleased to say, is the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary - a recent and personal victory for many reading this - which is, in turn, adjacent to the fully-protected Vulkathunha National Park, once threatened by magnesite miners, and whose consolidation in its rightful, fully-protected, status required a long campaign at the turn of the century.

(If you look at the map at the head of the post you can see the outlines of historic exploration leases, which, given their extensive overlapping, reveal that many of the now fully-protected Wilderness Areas had previously been determined to be unprospective!)

Next we'll add those reserves to which the industry has 'restricted' access - a comforting term, but still a name for mineable parks, nonetheless!

The light green areas are those parts of the reserve system to which the mining industry has accessWoah! Well, there's the bulk of the state's parks, appearing in light green. The industry still has access to roughly 3/4 of their land area.

So, are they using it?

The light blue overlay indicates current mineral - and only mineral - exploration licences.Yes. We can now see the current mineral exploration licences, and if we turn to consider mineral exploration licence applications...

The pink overlay indicates current mineral exploration licence applications....we see that these tenements are extensive, not only across the state, but across its reserves. And if we factor in historic mineral exploration leases?

The sky blue outlines indicate all historic mineral exploration licences.I'm sure you'll forgive me for observing that this all doesn't exactly look excessively 'hemmed in', 'locked out', or 'overly regulated' to me! If anything, we might perhaps consider the reverse...

don't forget the petrol!
But we have yet to consider the petroleum side of the equation, so lets clear the mineral tenements and run through the current petroleum exploration leases -

The pale aqua overlay indicates current petroleum - and only petroleum - exploration licences.Yes, petroleum leases are vast, when compared to their rocky counterparts! They also tend to cover the north-east of the state, which is not usually a mineral target.

So, let's add the petroleum exploration lease applications...

The puce layer indicates current petroleum exploration licence applications...and we see that the bulk of the state and the available reserve system is now covered. It just remains to reveal the historic petroleum exploration leases...

The dark teal outline indicates historic petroleum exploration licences...and then we can re-examine the image at the top of the post, which includes all exploration tenements for both the mineral and petroleum arms of the mining industry - but not, I will note, the gas sector - plus all current and historic production tenements -



Phew! Yes, both the state and its reserve system are largely subsumed.

what's in a name?And this is interesting in the light of the state government's recently proposed amendments overhauling the reserve category system to provide consistency with International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categories, adding the category of a 'Nature Park' to the existing National and Conservation Parks to cover those reserves where the mining industry is to be given access (the existing category of 'Regional Reserve' will be retained where the pastoral industry is also permitted to operate.)

What does this mean? Well, you can read it for yourself, but aside from us 'gaining' 67 such 'Nature Reserves' it means that, if the amendments are passed, the number of Conservation Parks will decline from 261 to 222, Recreation Parks from 14 to 6, and National Parks from 21 to 19 - but this is interesting, because by rights that number should actually be 16!

But instead we get, for example, this remarkable statement -
In response to community concerns regarding the potential impact on tourism if reclassified as a Nature Reserve, this park will remain in the National Park category and will continue to provide for existing and future mining rights.
So, folks, when is a National Park not a National Park?

If a wild area is of so much importance to the community, to the state's ecosystem, and to our tourism economy, that it merited being designated as a National Park in the first place, why, oh why, must the mining industry be given access to it? And is it not hypocritical to insist that, yes, they must be allowed access, but then not admit that in reality this hitherto icon is actually only a 'Nature Reserve'?

I'll be producing a post specifically focusing on a couple of the parks in question shortly. I really cannot imagine a world where the public is ever going to accept their being mined, so I cannot see why we have to leave ourselves open to future Arkaroola-type struggles. It's not even in the mining industry's best interest! As you can see, it already has the run of the state; why does it continue to insist on getting access to some of our premier landscape jewels, too?

For the time being, see if you can spot on the maps above some of the state's most prominent National Parks that are either substantially, or significantly, light green - that is, accessible to the mining industry.

I've included some hints below. Public responses on the new categories can be made up until Friday 21st December.








Posted byat7:58 PMNo comments: Monday, June 11, 2012 we did it - time to celebrate!
The Arkaroola victory - the T-Shirt!
Yes, we won! So the time has come for a celebration...
If you wrote or emailed to a politician of a newspaper, made a phone call, dressed up as a cowboy, handed out leaflets, made a submission on 'Seeking a Balance', or any of the dozens of other things, small and large, that go into making a campaign - any or all of the above - this is your victory too!
The celebration will be held on Sunday 1st July at the Grace Emily Hotel, 232-238 Waymouth Street, Adelaide (see below), from 4pm to 10pm .Performances by:
Tealight, a duo from Adelaide dedicated to playing songs that made the 40s and 50s the "golden era" of music. The Wandering Minstrels, with guitar, mandolin, harmonica, rhythm box and harmonies divine. The acoustic roots duo have an energetic and capturing stage presence with lyrics to inspire your consciousness!Abbey Howlett, draws endless inspiration from her surroundings, with jazz, soul and blues stylings driving her totally unique and earthy tone. Her voice is big and her stage presence, powerful!Minority Tradition, songs give breath to hope in a world of chaos and misunderstanding. Optimistic, uplifting and beautiful.Johnny McIntyre has a style and sound of old folk/blues and brings to your ears a reminiscent taste of early rocknroll recordings. His song structures explore storytelling through clever use of dynamics, layered guitars and sharp lyrics.There will also be a BBQ, raffle and twister game with a difference.
Marg Sprigg will be travelling from Arkaroola to join the celebration.
Entry by donation.

This is a great achievement, and it's certainly worth celebrating your part in it.
I look forward to seeing you there.

View Larger Map
Posted byat1:54 PM1 comment: Friday, March 2, 2012 so, what have we protected?...
Spectacular: the view to the Mawson Plateau across Yudnamutana Gorge from Siller's Lookout, the outward-bound terminus of the famous Ridgetop Tour
It's with great pleasure that I post this short, non-comprehensive tour of the new Arkaroola Protection Area.
Our campaign to save the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary from the mining industry has tended to focus on those areas that were most at risk; the direct target zones for mineral exploration.

But the new bill has protected the overwhelming bulk of the sanctuary, including those sections of the Mawson Plateau both in Arkaroola itself and on the adjacent Mount Freeling station.

After 180mm of rain in 2 days earlier this week shortly - when the roads are re-opened - there's never going to be a better time to visit Arkaroola!

Here's why -



Nooldoonooldoona Waterhole on the Bolla Bollana Creek.



The T-junction Waterhole on the magnificent Mawson Plateau.



Taking in the view back towards Mount Painter and the heart of the sanctuary from the Acacia Ridge walk.



Barraranna Gorge: this freshwater crayfish or marron (Cherax albidus) lifts a riverstone with its pincers and mouth-parts while excavating its home.



Rocky walls tower above a side creek in the Yudnamutana Gorge.



The lush outlet creek of the Paralana Hot Springs.



Botanising at the Bolla Bollana Waterhole.



The spirit of the inland - a striking gum-barked coolibah (Eucalyptus intertexta) against red cliffs above Stubbs Waterhole.



Following an old access track deep in the East Painter Gorge.



I saw a frog! Downstream from the Nooldoonooldoona Waterhole.



The western edge of the ranges from a ridge above the old Wheal Turner mine works.



Wilderness hiking on the remote Mawson Plateau.



Euro (Macropus robustus) in saltbush country near the Bolla Bollana Creek.



Idyllic wilderness camp site on the Mawson Plateau.



Descending towards the Arkaroola Village on the Acacia Ridge trail.

And that's not-nearly all! For more view the Best of Arkaroola slideshow:


The Greens have lobbied for a mining ban in the Arkaroola region and the Liberal Opposition opposed the removal of any environmental protection.

"We could have settled for what the Greens wanted, which was simply a ban on mining, but I wasn't satisfied that that would provide enough protection from all forms of incompatible development," Mr Rann said.

Earlier this year, Marathon Resources was allowed a new mining exploration licence for Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary.

The company had faced a ban after it was caught illegally dumping exploration waste in the northern Flinders Ranges in 2008.

To get the new licence it agreed to a conditions imposed by the South Australian Government for it to keep exploring the outback region for uranium and other minerals.

SA Mineral Resources Development Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the Government had made clear the area could not be mined.

"Earlier this year we renewed a one-year exploration licence for Marathon Resources with strict conditions to allow exploration within Arkaroola, as we were legally obliged to do," he said.

"We acknowledge that the mining industry needs certainty which is why at the time we made it very clear that the exploration licence in no way confers a right to mine.

"The Arkaroola wilderness area is a unique environment and as such we are giving it special, one-off, legislative protection."

Marathon Resources shares are in a trading halt.

Widespread praise

Marg Sprigg from the Wilderness Sanctuary is thrilled by the news that there will not be mining.

"It's wonderful. After 40 years or so of my family being here we've achieved what we really hoped to," she said.

SA Greens MP Mark Parnell says the Government's decision acknowledges the region's significance.

"Supporters of Arkaroola come from all sides of the political spectrum. Today the government has announced that it has listened to the people of SA," he said.

Mr Parnell tweeted: "Not surprisingly, the Premier has a dig at the Greens, but most important, no digging in Arkaroola!"

Adnyamathanha representative Enice Marsh said it was a dream come true for Indigenous people to know the area would be protected.

"I just want to thank the people that persevered with this and kept coming to our meetings so that we could document all this," she said.

Former South Australian senator Nick Minchin was involved in the campaign to protect the area from mining development and is pleased with the decision taken.

"This is not a place for mining, it is far too precious to mine," he said.

"I'm a supporter of uranium mining, I'm a supporter of mining generally and this state has a lot of potential for mining but there are some places you simply cannot mine that should be out of bounds for all time."

Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond welcomed the Government's decision, but said it should have been made two years earlier.
The Advertiser's take this morning is here. There's also an opportunity to comment, and a poll regarding whether it was the right decision.

Congratulations to Mike Rann and his team for making this historic announcement.

This is a great day for the Flinders Ranges, and a great day for all South Australians who care about their wild environment - a truly unique and irreplaceable resource.

Further, it's a great day for all Australians and all those people across the world who know true value when they see it.

And it's a great day for you; if you wrote to, e-mailed, phoned, petitioned, pamphletted, stuck the sticker on your car, spread the word - it's your victory, too! Congratulations!

A group celebration will be organised shortly - we'll keep you posted!

Thanks again. Go enjoy yourself! You've earned it...



PS A little over 4 years and more than 90 blog posts later, I can't tell you how pleased I am!

(My photos go a good run on the ABC online yesterday, and I've created a gallery below -)



looking west to the armchair from the ridgetop track




in the yudnamutana gorge at mining industry target hodgkinsons - a mining access track is visible at right




sillers lookout, with the yudnamutana gorge below




the prelude - mark parnell's early morning press release anticipating the premier's announcement - the image is from the mouth of the yudnamutana gorge

and, at the top of the page, the rugged terrain at the heart of arkaroola; yudnamutana gorge far below and the freeling heights above, as seen from the ridgetop track


Posted byat9:45 AM7 comments: Labels:arkaroola,Marg Sprigg,Mark Parnell,mike rann,minchin,victory Thursday, June 9, 2011 more mysterious moments; mark's motion makes it!

Be it forever known that on Wednesday the 8th of June 2011 the following motion was carried in the Upper House of the South Australian Parliament -

That this council

1. Notes that it has been almost 40 months since the initial discovery of illegal waste disposal and vandalism by Marathon Resources in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary; and

2. Calls for the state government to urgently guarantee permanent protection for the iconic and majestic mountains of Arkaroola.


Greens MLC Mark Parnell's motion was carried 'on the voices'; great news!

But the truly strange thing is that both former mining minister Paul Holloway (Labor) and opposition environment spokesperson Michelle Lensink (Liberal) spoke against it!

But both spokespersons for the major parties were at pains to indicate that nothing terrible was going to happen to Arkaroola anyway via the plan they were developing!

Lensink is apparently coy about the use of the word 'vandalism' to describe what we'll call 'the fluorite incident'; "I think he [Mark P] is pushing the envelope a little bit too far." If you've forgotten the details, perhaps you could follow the link and see what you think, Dear Reader?

However, she re-encapsulated the Liberal's position and their proposal to protect Arkaroola -

...we found the government's document, 'Seeking a Balance'.... quite disturbing in that it sought to change the zoning of that area and, in fact, to water down the existing provisions that apply. Indeed, the environmental zone A [the Class A Zone BJD] protection that applies to that area states that mining should not take place unless the deposits are of paramount importance and their exploration is in the highest national or state interest that all other environmental and heritage matters can be overridden.

I think it is fair to say that my leader and I certainly share the view that, given there are some 30,000 tonnes of uranium oxide, potentially, at that site versus what is already a 2.5 million tonne deposit at Olympic Dam, it would be extremely unlikely that those national and state heritage and environmental interests would ever be overridden under those circumstances.

Indeed, my colleague the Hon. David Ridgway has tabled a bill in this place, the Development (Principles of Development ControlMining OperationsFlinders) Amendment Bill, which was tabled in November last year and which sought to ensure that the zoning which applies cannot be watered down. [Emphasis mine]


On Labor's side former Minerals Minister Paul Holloway admitted that public responses to his government's Seeking a Balance 'mining access' plan "were overwhelmingly in favour of protecting Arkaroola from mining". He went on to outline the government's intentions -

On 22 February this year the Premier advised parliament that he had asked the Minister for Environment and Conservation and the Minister for Mineral Resources Development to lead a consultation process to identify the best conservation management framework for Arkaroola. This consultation process is currently under way. All options will be considered, including a permanent ban on mining, creating a national park and national heritage listing, with a possible view to seeking world heritage status in the future.

The consultation process, being led personally by the Minister for Environment and Conservation and the Minister for Mineral Resources Development, is well under way. It involves discussion with key stakeholders, namely, the leaseholders of the Arkaroola, Mount Freeling and Wooltana Pastoral Leases, the Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association, who hold native title over the area, and several exploration and mining companies, including Marathon Resources, but also Heathgate Resources, Alliance Craton Explorer and Giralia Resources. Their views are being sought on the best options for conserving Arkaroola's unique values.

Following this consultation process the government will then be in a position to consider which option is the most appropriate to protect the values of Arkaroola. For those reasons this matter is being considered very earnestly by the government. We intend to come to a solution that will be acceptable to the community, and that is why we reject the motion, particularly part 2. Certainly, nothing will happen to Arkaroola either now or in the future that will damage the iconic areas of that region. [emphases mine]


(Let's see - the Premier proposes a ban on mining, a National Park, or heritage protection; these are strikingly different from the three options new Minerals Minister Tom Koutsantonis put to the electors of West Torrens, don't you think? Despite the fact that he is apparently 'personally leading' the self-same consultation process? Intriguing! )


Ann Bressington (Independent) and Kelly Vincent (Dignity for Disability) spoke strongly in favour of the motion to protect Arkaroola.

In fact, the proper protection of Arkaroola has the full support of the entire cross-bench. It's an embarrassment for the major parties, and something of a challenge to explain for those who deride the Upper House as somehow unrepresentative; here are the so-called 'special interests' speaking forthrightly for the majority in this matter, while the major parties are still so beholden to the power of the mining lobby - truly a special interest, if ever there was one! - that they have ended up tying themselves in logical knots!

Now, as you can see, no party wants to be seen to actively oppose protection for Arkaroola - a formal division wasn't called, and the vote was carried on voices!

It's a matter of record!

[PS - here's the link to the relevant Hansard - and here's Mark's take on facebook -

Great to see my Motion to permanently protect Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary passed in Parliament last night. Both Liberal and Labor are flip-flopping and mucking around on making a final decision, but neither was prepared to call a division when the vote was awarded to the Greens. So, the record stands: The Legislative Council wants Arkaroola protected. Over to you Premier.
]

Posted byat6:30 PM1 comment: Labels:arkaroola,Holloway,lensink,Mark Parnell,motion,parliament,south australia Older PostsHomeSubscribe to:Posts (Atom)


ride the desktop toyota
Take a virtual Ridgetop Tour, the Arkaroola Sanctuary's famous 4WD trek - and see what the state government has proposed as being worth protecting, or sort of worth protecting - or not really worth any extra protection at all! You may be surprised...
images from those areas of the arkaroola wilderness sanctuary that 'seeking a balance' has designated to be potentially mineable to greater and lesser degrees - including 'standard mining access only'(i.e. no special protection required! you might be quite surprised at some of the areas that don't make the grade...)for all the images see the undermined set on flickr (also available as a slideshow)Blog Archive 2012(4) December(1)mining in reserves - the state of play June(1) March(2) 2011(11) July(2) June(3) May(1) February(4) January(1) 2010(21) December(3) October(3) September(1) August(1) July(1) June(1) May(3) March(2) February(1) January(5) 2009(18) December(4) November(2) October(2) September(4) August(2) April(1) March(1) February(2) 2008(21) December(3) October(2) September(1) August(2) June(1) April(3) March(3) February(1) January(5) 2007(17) November(3) October(3) September(5) August(4) July(2)seeking a balance - submissions now closed
public comment of the state government's plan to 'balance' mining industry access and conservation in the arkaroola wilderness sanctuary and its surrounds - seeking a balance - conservation and resource use in the northern flinders ranges - closed on january 29th 2010we now await the state government's assessment of the nearly 500 submissions they received

what we do know is that the submissions overwhelmingly favoured the preservation of the arkaroola sanctuary from mining

those submissions whose authors gave permission for their publication are available here - this includes my own

interestingly current mining proponent marathon resources chose not to make its submission publicly available
save arkaroola website
the save arkaroola website has been launched - click the links to visit it!
see SA the miners way!
see south australia as the mining industry does by taking the walk-through of SARIG, the primary industries' department's SA Resource Information Geoserver

it's an eye-opening resource in itself - and you might be very surprised indeed!...






this journal is a section of the unknownsa site, which is run by the photographer bill doyle

the site feature extensive collections of photographs of wild regions in south australia, and highlights campaigns designed to protect themunknownsa site contentshomepagefeature areasjoin the mailing list
to be alerted to posts appearing on this blog, and to find out more about threats to our wild places and campaigns to protect them - join the unknownsa mailing list

you can either subscribe to receive feeds via the link below each post in the main panel, or simply send me an e-mail to join the list!

your privacy is completely respected (bcc is used for all mail-outs), your details will not be shared with any other party, and you may, of course, withdraw from the list at any time

arkaroola sanctuary owners oppose the mine


"We dont want a mine of any description on Arkaroola"

the owners of the multi-award winning arkaroola sanctuary don't want marathon resources or any other miners active in the heart of their sanctuary
arkaroola - the targetted area

click the icon above to see the spectacular mount gee region - and other areas that have sustained or are facing mineral exploration impacts - in the arkaroola wilderness sanctuary by viewing the 'arkaroola - would U mine it?' slideshow on flickr

or click here to access all the images via thumbnail

just to the north in the sanctuary, and also currently unprotected from potential depredations from the mining industry, lies the magnificent mawson plateau


click the icon above to see the mawson plateau slideshow on flickr

or see the mawson plateau set here on the unknownsa site





the features section displays all the regional collections of images available on the unknownsa site; some examples are displayed below -the flinders ranges
kangaroo island
katarapko / murray river np





the flickr photo-sharing site is a massive, fully-searchable online collection of photos uploaded by account holders all over the world - it's a convenient, flexible, and elegant way to store and arrange photos and collections of photos online


landscape photo sets on flickrblack + white landscapesflinders rangesmawson plateaumount lofty ranges





other photo sets on flickr50 'most interesting' photoschristie walkcity of adelaideport adelaide and environsthe monochrome set

SA green linksconservation council of SAgreens SAmark parnell - greens SA MLCthe wilderness society - SATWS - WildCountry

About MebillI am a botanist and photographer based in Adelaide, South Australia.I manage the unknownsa website, which began life as an online campaign base opposing the magnesite mine proposed for the Weetootla Gorge in the Vulkathunha National Park in the northern Flinders Ranges of this state (we succeeded, and the whole park is now fully protected from mining operations)I also have an extensive collection of photographs online at flickr under my 'middle name' liam jon dView my complete profile




to be alerted to posts appearing on this blog, and to find out more about threats to our wild places and campaigns to protect them - join the unknownsa mailing list

you can either subscribe to receive feeds via the link below each post in the main panel, or simply send me an e-mail to join the list!

your privacy is completely respected (bcc is used for all mail-outs), your details will not be shared with any other party, and you may, of course, withdraw from the list at any time

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