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Mines, rehabilitation and economics

Mines, rehabilitation and economics. Kalbar mineral sands project. The Australia Institute. The Australia Institute is a Canberra-based think tank focused on public policy and economics. The Institute has a long interest in critiquing the economic claims of the mining industry.

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Mines, rehabilitation and economics

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  1. Mines, rehabilitation and economics Kalbar mineral sands project

  2. The Australia Institute • The Australia Institute is a Canberra-based think tank focused on public policy and economics. • The Institute has a long interest in critiquing the economic claims of the mining industry. • Research Director Rod Campbell visited Glenaladale area in January 2018

  3. Kalbar claims – royalties and taxes • Kalbar says that it will pay “$10 million annually in royalties and tax payments” • East Gippsland Shire’s annual budget is $94 million • Total Vic mining royalties $95m in 2017-18 budget. 1% of total revenue of $63 billion. • 99% of Victoria’s schools, hospitals, etc don’t come from the mining industry.

  4. Kalbar claims – 20 year project life Mines, particularly sand mines, stop and start depending on mineral prices and ore quality Compare to other mines like the WRP mine: • Ouyen was the closest town for the WRP mineral sands mine • Mine ran for three years, and then closed

  5. Kalbar claims – jobs Mining is capital intensive and employs relatively few people. Australia-wide, mining employs less than 2% of the workforce. Even in places like the Hunter Valley, mining employs just 5% of the workforce. • Ouyen had a similar sized sand mine. Employment in sand mining peaked at with 121 employed out of 51,000 total employed in the local government area (LGA) • That’s 0.2% of employment • Note that only 40% of WRP mine’s employees came from a 100 km radius.

  6. Kalbar claims – jobs Ouyen’s local government area saw at best one fifth of one percent employment in mineral sand mining. Strong growth in LGA employment even as mine closed.

  7. Kalbar claims – indirect jobs • Indirect jobs of 150-200 • Indirect job claims are generally misleading. A lot depends on the surrounding industries and labour market. • In Ouyen’s local government area overall employment increased by 2,899 between 2011 and 2016, when mining employment fell by 36

  8. Rehabilitation • Kalbar says mine site will be 1,000 hectares overall (~225 hectares at any one time) • examples of rehabilitated mines: • Wemen (near Mildura): Seems to have been small; operated until 2004. Rehabilitation not complete at least by 2012 (Cristal Mining). • Yoganup (SW WA) (Iluka, p 1 and 2) • Yoganup: 312 hectares. Mined from 1998. By 2014, only 33% rehabilitated • Yoganup West: 267 hectares. Mined from 2004. By 2014, only 88% rehabilitated. • Douglas Echo (Wimmera): 1,072 hectares • Iluka is dumping radioactive waste at Douglas (ABC News); • council worried this will contaminate groundwater (Wimmera Times); • “progressive rehabilitation” has taken place since 2006 and the mine closed in 2011, but only 52% rehabilitated so far according to Iluka’s website • Mine site rehabilitation is difficult and expensive. As few as 2 mine sites in Victoria have ever been approved as ‘fully’ rehabilitated.

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