Aussie Finch Forum

finchbreeder wrote:I know there are many very well managed mines. The other half regularly goes to Koolan Island and the whole island is a nature reserve/mine combination. I just don;t see the need to mine everything today and leave nothing for tomorrow.
LML

The mine I am in has a 37yr working life....(many others are still in planning...for future mining in 30 40 50yrs) Sadly it comes down to supply and demand and almighty $$...but in future Generations they probably wont need to mine anything...will be all synthetic or solar or wind?

Expecting a company to leave a mine inactive for future generations to be able to mine it themselves is not realistic thinking. Companies/inidividuals want to make now, thats just the way it is.
If you stumbled across a gold mine in your backyard and some one offered to buy it for $100 million do you leave it so future generations can mine the gold themselves, or do you take the money and set your family up for life?? No brainer really. I mean who is even to know if gold would be worth anyting in 200 years times (future generations). It's the same concept for buisnesses, large and small.

If the miners are taking more care of the environment now, whether by choice or force, then i'm ok for mining to continue. When an individual uses nothing in their life that is derived from raw mined minerals then and only then could they dissagree without being hypocrytes.

From what I read in the article above, 6 birds were found near the propsed mine site. Are we really going to stop a multi billion dollar industry which creates jobs for so many australians for 6 birds? Not if I was in power.

Some interesting sentiments being shared here........

Mining really doesnt occupy a huge % of land....but it is high profile. Like vettepilot says, there's heaps more rehab done these days, though one cannot expect to be able to restore every aspect of the former ecosystem.

The ecosystems present prior to many mines are often highly degraded anyway, ie alot of grazing country in say, the Hunter Region of NSW.

We are all gazing at high quality computer screens made out of materials kindly provided by the mining industry.

In Australia we have much better environemental management than other countries, especially developing nations. Sure, we can leave the stuff in the ground here but it'll get dug up somewhere else.....................

So we have a choice. If you want something done right, its often best to do it yourself.................or we can be NIMBYs

I noticed in the report that the Black Throat Recovery Team were involved, so we, as finchos, are being heard.

Give me a backyard with rare birds and a gold mine worth $100m and I will keep the birds and bother the mine. Maybe I'm crazy, but it's OK cause so are my kids and they would not want to be millionares at that cost either. Good management and hard work has and will continue to feed me and them. But the birds would be gone.
LML

Just another update to this story as it appeared on the ABC detailing plans for more detailed bird counts before mining is given the go ahead. Does anyone know if Clive Palmer (Waratah Coal) now keeps Black-throats???!!!!

Probably pays someone to breed them for him . .

And releases some from time to time at sites where opposition companies plan to mine

In the Senate's Question time about a week ago (I'm abit behind schedule) there was a question relating to Bimblebox Nature Reserve, and it caused more of a cuffuffle than most debates about the Carbon Tax.

http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/newsradio/a ... senate.mp3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - Skip to 19:55
or http://bimblebox.org/wp-content/uploads ... nrory1.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; There is a transcript.