A South Austraoian court has denied Straits Resources and its joint venture partner, Argonaut Resources, the rights to explore a region around Lake Torrens.
Judge Sydney Tilmouth delivered a scathing judgment, saying the public interest in exploring a geological anomaly below Lake Torrens was only marginal. Lake Torrens is a salt lake about 60 kilometres north of Port Augusta.
The traditional owners, the Kokatha people, opposed the operation because of the significance of the area to them.
''The fundamental shortcomings of the applicants in the field, the failure to secure adequate consents and the posture of avoiding scrutiny and accountability for precipitous decision making tell heavily against the proposed mining operations going ahead,'' the jdge commented.
http://www.theage.com.au/business/court-blocks-exploration-20110117-19u4...
Comments
We should halt unwanted mining on our lands by any means
It's nice to have some good news to share. I think Native Title etc is a pretty big sham and usually a waste of time, but being totally pragmatic, we should use whatever means necessary to halt unwanted mining on our lands, without giving up our overiding sovereign status.
The Kokatha Mula elders and supporters, appear to have achieved that, so I say all power to them. Please share the good news, noting that the Argonaut/s! do plan to appeal. A case to watch closely....like the ongoing attempts to force a nuke dump on land near Tennant Crk (which is still in court ordered mediation as I understand it?).
Donna Jackson
Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation
Darwin
Significant judgment also for Roxby Downs
By Vikki John
The presiding Judge concluded that: "The native title in the land of the traditional owners in preventing mining are significant and genuine. The Kokatha people's genuine, longstanding and consistently voiced opposition to mining weighed against approval." This is a significant judgment, not only for the Kokatha in the Lake Torrens region, but also - by implication - for some of their Aboriginal kinsfolk, 75 kilometres away. Here, BHP Billiton operates its massive Olympic Dam (aka Roxby Downs) mine, which purportedly hosts the world's fourth largest remaining copper deposit, its fifth largest gold lode and its largest cache of uranium. See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10661.