FAST-TRACKED MINING IN CLARENCE AND COFFS DRINKING WATER CATCHMENT

 Media Release

5th May 2025

 The Clarence Catchment Alliance (CCA),  local environmental groups and residents are calling for immediate action as mining exploration for antimony and tungsten escalates across the Wild Cattle Creek area near Dorrigo, a sensitive part of the drinking water catchment relied on by more than 80,000 people in the Clarence Valley and Coffs Harbour regions.

In a matter of months exploration licences have been fast-tracked under the NSW Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy, allowing companies to progress rapidly despite operating in flood-prone, high-rainfall headwater regions. One licence was granted just four months after application, and additional licence applications have since been lodged and approved, many bordering national parks, public forests, and endangered species habitat.

Alongside these approvals, private landholders on the Dorrigo Plateau have begun receiving formal letters from mining companies seeking land access for drilling. Many residents say they had no prior knowledge of nearby exploration activity, and feel overwhelmed and unprepared to respond, particularly following a core sample spill at Bielsdown Bridge on the Coramba Road in April, which has since been reported to the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).

“We all know how toxic Antimony and the mining of other heavy metals can be, with the past poisoning of the Urunga wetlands a stark reminder. Therefore, this latest incident on the Bielsdown Bridge should come as a timely warning that accidents can and do occur, and that this type of mining activity in these rugged, highly erosive hinterlands of the Clarence Valley, pose an unacceptable threat to our drinking water,” said John Edwards, CCA member and long-term local environmental advocate.

The affected waterways include the Clarence and Nymboida Rivers, which are essential for farming, fisheries, tourism, and the daily water needs of multiple communities. They also support Eastern Freshwater Cod, platypus, koalas, and intersect with Aboriginal cultural sites that are deeply significant to Bundjalung and Gumbaynggirr peoples.

“Industrial mining developments in our high rainfall river catchments are dangerous and highly inappropriate,” said a spokesperson for the Blicks River Guardians. “The risks of contamination are unthinkable for the health of the Clarence–Coffs Harbour regional water supply and the reliance for coastal townships on clean drinking water. Heavy metal contamination in Wild Cattle Creek, the Blicks, and Nymboida Rivers will impact Clarence catchment communities for millennia.”

Despite these concerns, exploration is being promoted by the state as part of a national push for critical minerals. While exploration approvals proceed quickly, many communities and landholders are finding out after licences are granted or land access is requested, rather than through early and meaningful consultation. There is increasing concern about the lack of transparent regional planning, minimal public information, and the absence of cumulative impact assessments across multiple communities and licence sites. There are currently 40+ mineral exploration licences (ELs) held across the Clarence Catchment.

“This exploration is not only irresponsible, it’s dangerous,” said Shae Fleming, Coordinator of the Clarence Catchment Alliance. “To be fast-tracking mining for a toxic metalloid in a drinking water catchment, in flood country, without full environmental scrutiny or proper consultation, puts entire communities and ecosystems at risk. The NSW Government is failing its duty of care to regional people.”

The Clarence Catchment Alliance is calling for:

• Clarence Valley and Coffs Harbour Councils to urgently lobby the NSW Government for a moratorium on mineral exploration in the Coffs-Clarence drinking water catchments.

• NSW Ministers for Water, Environment, and Regional NSW to immediately place an embargo and move to revoke all licences in the Clarence drinking water catchment and review fast-tracked approvals under the Critical Minerals Strategy.

• Local State and Federal MPs to formally oppose the Wild Cattle Creek exploration licences.

• NSW MPs to back the 26 March 2025 Notice of Motion by Clarence MP Richie Williamson, calling for stronger protections for the Clarence River Catchment.

This is about protecting the life of our river systems, the safety of our drinking water, the rights of landholders and Traditional Owners, and the economic, cultural and environmental wellbeing of an entire region. The Clarence Catchment must be protected — now and for future generations.