Science Education News (SEN) Journal 2017 Volume 66 Number 4 December 2017 | Page 39

GENERAL ARTICLES
Swimming in Sand – Frogs and Sand-Mining at Smiths Lake (continued)
In their Environmental Impact Statement, Mineral Deposits Ltd
stated that they would be able to strip the dune of vegetation,
remove the valuable mineral sands, reform the dune to a smaller
and lower conformation, replant it and no-one would be able to
tell that they had been there. They were claiming that they would
have no environmental impact on the site!
Mining gets the Go-ahead
In 1974 Mr Bunning made his deliberation. He ruled in favour of
the mining company and was swayed by the impressive EIS that
had been submitted. His decision was tempered by a couple of
major rulings: firstly, he disallowed mining of the southern portion
of the lease but allowed mining of the northern (Bridge Hill) lease.
Secondly, although he believed the miners were sincere in their
claims that they could rebuild the dune and ecosystems, he ruled
that the mining company was obliged to leave a $1 million dollar
bond; if the rehabilitation work was not as good as it should be,
that money would be used to repair the dune.
The decision to allow mining at Bridge Hill near Smiths Lake
was totally unexpected. This was the most bio-diverse section
of the lease, the one that conservationists really fought for. Mr
Bunning pointed out in his ruling that it was also out of sight to
the public and would not cause angst to passers-by or tourists
if it was developed. His decision to invoke a bond was a great
precedent and one that is now standard practice for most major
developments.
Figure 3: Myall Lakes and the Bridge Hill Dune.
The problem was that these crown lands, especially those north
to Smiths Lake, were covered under a mining lease by Mineral
Deposits Ltd, a rutile mining company. To resolve the best use
of these lands a Commission of Inquiry was established by the
State Government. The commission ran from 1969 to 1974 and
was chaired by Mr Walter Bunning, a prominent architect.
How would frogs react to the sand-mining?
Like many people I was shocked and dismayed by the ruling. The
mining company had been excused of looking for any impacts as
they claimed that they could fix them all. This seemed like a fairy
story, so I decided I would conduct a small experiment to see if
mining adversely impacted the frogs close to the dune.
In March 1971 Mineral Deposits Ltd lodged a development
application with the local council that proposed to mine two long
strips on the high dunes between the Myall Lakes and the Pacific
Ocean. The council gave conditional approval to the proposal
and transmitted the application to the State Planning Authority.
Mining of the southern deposit was granted approval by the
Authority. In respect of the northern deposit, after considerable
discussion and inspection of the area, the Authority withheld its
concurrence in February 1972.
Smiths Lake and the northern parts of Myall Lake are on low-lying
land. At various times, elevated sea-levels have swept across the
land depositing great dunes of sand when the seas retreated.
The Bridge Hill dune was the tallest and steepest in NSW, and
was fully forested. The dune sand acts like an enormous sponge
that collects rain water after storms. The water seeps down
through the dune till it hits an impervious layer at its base. The
water then runs horizontally northwards to create a large wallum
swamp leading to Smiths Lake. There were a couple of small
ponds at the base of the dune, and the large Dune Swamp that
relied on water coming from the dune.
To determine the future of the northern deposits a series of public
meetings and a meeting with the mining company were held. I
attended two of the public meetings and spoke at one of them.
What began was a long series of sometimes angry disputes
between the mining sector and the local activists. Eventually
this issue was to draw state-wide attention and conservationists
from all over NSW entered the fray. What was at stake was the
conservation of a unique landscape and the protection of its flora
and fauna.
Mining Strategy
Mining began in late 1975. A clearing was established at the
eastern end of Bridge Hill and mining commenced at the eastern
end (Fig. 4) and pr