Senior Labor figures insist a $1 billion gold mining project can go ahead despite Tanya Plibersek rejecting part of the plans on Aboriginal cultural grounds.
The federal environment minister issued an Indigenous heritage protection order over part of the McPhillamys Gold Project in central-west NSW after Wiradjuri traditional owners asked her to protect the headwaters and the springs of the Belubula River.
Gold producer Regis Resources said it was “shattered” by the decision, which it said rendered the whole project unviable due to the time required to get approval for another location for a tailings dam that would serve as a key waste site.
Company representatives were meeting with NSW Natural Resources Minister Courtney Houssos on Tuesday to try to plot a way forward for the mine, which is expected to deliver a royalties windfall for state coffers.
Premier Chris Minns said there could be an “expedited” approval for any changes to existing plans that were cleared by state authorities in a bid to get the billion-dollar mine under way.
“It’s not necessarily just about this mine as well, we need billions of dollars worth of investment from mining companies for critical minerals across NSW,” he told Sydney radio 2GB.
“Not just for gold, but a whole range of components for renewable energy are in the ground in NSW, potentially worth billions, and there’s tens of thousands of jobs there.”
Mr Minns noted the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council, the elected body for Indigenous leaders in the area, had no issue with the mine.
The tailings dam was to be built on the headwaters and springs of the river, but Ms Plibersek’s decision was made to avoid any potential damage caused by its construction.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insisted there was nothing to stop the mine being built, insisting the project was not dead in the water.
“The gold mine can go ahead … Chris Minns would like it to go ahead, I’d like to go ahead too,” he said
“The mine has not been opposed, what we’re talking about is a tailings dam, and the company itself put forward a range of options that were considered and they should work to ensure the project can go ahead.”
Regis chief executive Jim Beyer previously said cancelling the project would kill 580 construction jobs and 280 full-time positions.
Mr Minns said he hoped the parties could find an alternate solution for the tailings dam, although he stopped short of ensuring the mine would go ahead.
“We are in discussions with the mine proponent and we’ve said very specifically that we don’t want them to start from the beginning, we don’t want them to go all the way back to 2019,” he said.