ALC 15 year strategic plan 2012-2027
Anindilyakwa Land Council
Anindilyakwa Land Council annual report; Anindilyakwa Land Council strategic plan; Reports; PublicationNT
2012
Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).
English
Anindilyakwa Land Council (N.T.) -- Periodicals; Aboriginal Australians -- Northern Territory -- Groote Eylandt -- Periodicals
Anindilyakwa Land Council
Alyangula
2012-2027
Anindilyakwa Land Council
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/254602
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/529654
ALC 15 year Strategic Plan 5. Goal A: Protect the Land and Sea 37 ACTIONS: 1. Educate Traditional Owners of the value of areas within the Southern Leases. 2. Conduct comprehensive anthropological and archaeological studies in the Southern Leases area. 3. Negotiate with Traditional Owners if posed with a request for an Exploration License by GEMCO (BHP Billiton) after January 2013. 4. Seek advice on an ALC position to future exploration/mining of the Southern Leases area. EASTERN LEASES GEMCO (BHP Billiton) currently holds Exploration Retention Licenses over the areas in the head waters of the Emerald River referred to as the Eastern Leases. There are two leases in the area both located north of the Amagula River and east of the Emerald River. GEMCO is currently actively exploring for manganese in both leases and it is expected that this program will be completed in the next two years. Preliminary exploration reports have indicated that viable manganese deposits do occur in both leases and GEMCO is proposing to move into the mining phase in the next three to five years. GEMCO sought consent from the Traditional Owners of the affected lands in 1997 and consent was provided for GEMCO to explore the area and, in turn, mine if a viable resource was detected. While many Traditional Owners may regret that this disjunctive agreement was made, there is a limit to what can be done if GEMCO decides to go ahead with mining in the future. Several cultural sites have been identified in the lease areas and these have been protected by exclusion zones and some signage. Most culturally significant areas occur on the southern and eastern boundaries of the leases close to the Amagula River and its associated songlines. Beyond the concerns of cultural site impacts, there remains significant concern on the potential environmental impacts of mining in this area on the Emerald River. The Emerald River is a perpetual stream fed from a catchment located within the GEMCO leases hence any disruption to this flow would be devastating to the river and its surrounding ecology. It has been highlighted to GEMCO that any attempt to mine within the leases will require significant environmental assessment to ensure that there is no adverse impact on the Emerald River or its associated environs. Any move by GEMCO towards mining in the