In short:
There are fears mining exploration could devastate the Macquarie Marshes.
A Canadian-owned mining company was granted approval to drill for copper and gold on the land in north-west NSW earlier this year.
What’s next?
The NSW Resources Regulator has since instructed the company to cease exploration activities and has started investigating the proposal.
There are concerns the pristine ecosystems of the Macquarie Marshes in New South Wales could cease to exist after a mining company was granted approval to explore for copper and gold in the area.
The marshes in north western NSW are one of the largest remaining semi-permanent wetlands in southern Australia and act as a crucial breeding ground for waterbirds.
Graziers Garry and Leanne Hall, who own land set to be impacted by the proposed drilling, said they were devastated by the proposal.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous that this proposal has been approved by the NSW government,” Mr Hall said.
“As far as I’m concerned, this would be the end of the Macquarie Marshes as we know it.”
Canadian-owned mining company Australian Consolidated Gold Holdings was granted approval by the NSW Resources Regulator in March to continue exploration drilling on the western side of the Macquarie Marshes.
The Halls, who own a 5,000-hectare grazing property about 115 kilometres north-west of Warren, were particularly concerned about Mole Marsh located on their land.
They said it was home to a number of threatened and vulnerable species.
The site was part of a proposed drill site at the Macquarie Marshes and connected to the protected nature reserve.
“It’s pretty offensive and insulting for us and our community,” Mr Hall said.
“[We all] really value the broad biodiversity that the marshes provide on the broader landscape.”
The NSW Resources Regulator has started an investigation into the approved proposal by Australian Consolidated Gold Holdings.
“The title holder of the two Assessable Prospecting Operation (APO) applications has been instructed to cease all activities until further analysis takes place,” a NSW Resources Regulator spokesperson said.
“As the investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
Ecological importance
The Macquarie Marshes nature reserve, protected under the Ramsar Convention since 1986, is one of 67 internationally significant sites in Australia.
Australian Consolidated Gold Holdings said “there are no threatened species or communities recorded within the proposed drilling area” and that the project would “not likely have a significant impact on the environment”.
Mr Hall said Mole Marsh was home to endangered, threatened and vulnerable species including the critically endangered Australasian bittern, migratory birds such as Latham’s snipe and painted snipe, and marsh club-rush sedgeland.
“These are really highly valued areas of wetland that are unique in our local area,” Mr Hall said.
“The fact [the NSW government] has granted approval is a bloody disgrace.”
Australian Consolidated Gold Holdings’s application flagged several threatened and migratory species in the region.
But it stated the drilling area was open with minimal vegetation impact, and that important wetlands were more than 700 kilometres upstream, reducing the potential ecological impact.
As neighbouring landholders to the Macquarie Marshes, the Halls said they followed strict guidelines to protect the environment.
“If we’re constructing a boundary fence for the nature reserve, we’re obligated to do a cultural heritage assessment and tick every box,” Mr Hall said.
“Yet a gold miner can start drilling without any proper assessment of the land’s cultural values and biodiversity.”
Previous mining bid
Australian Consolidated Gold Holdings was not the first mining company to make a bid for the site.
A Canadian copper and gold mining company in 2021 withdrew its application to drill 11 exploration holes in an ecologically sensitive wetland that formed part of the marshes.
Nature Conservation Council of NSW water campaigner Melissa Gray said the approval was reckless and threatened the entire wetland system.
“The Macquarie Marshes are a really important kidney for the whole basin, the reed beds clear out and filter the water, they remove sediment from the water, they are a very important part of the entire hydrological system that is the Murray Darling Basin,” she said.
“So doing dangerous, potentially polluting activity in the middle of such a critical environmental asset as the marshes beggars belief.”
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