Location | |
---|---|
Location | Kanagulk |
Victoria | |
Country | Australia |
Coordinates | 37°15′06″S 141°49′25″E / 37.2517°S 141.8236°E |
Production | |
Products | Heavy Minerals |
History | |
Opened | 2006 |
Closed | 2012 |
Owner | |
Company | Iluka Resources |
Website | http://www.iluka.com/ |
'The Douglas Mine' also known as the 'Douglas and Echo Mine' is a mineral sands mine near the small Western-Victorian town of Balmoral. It was established in 2006 to mine rutile and zircon, and then closed in 2012. [1] Watpac, the construction company responsible for mine operations, estimated that it extracted 7.5 million tonnes of mineral sands from the mine. [2]
Iluka Resources stated that it is committed to rehabilitating the site. [3] However The Age Newspaper reported that Iluka Resources "is seeking approval to continue to operate the Douglas mine site as a dumping ground for up to 20 years because laws require mining companies to be operating a mine in the state to be able to process and store byproduct." [4] The ABC reported that radioactive gas, a byproduct of the mineral sand mining, had been reported at levels that exceeded the "maximum for public exposure". [5] After the mine closed, The Wimmera Mail-Times reported that local landowners were concerned that the levels of air and water contamination were not being independently monitored. [6] However, the Victorian Environment Protection Authority declared that "it has found that neither pollution or environmental hazard has occurred nor is likely to occur in the future as a result of current and proposed Pit 23 disposal activities." [7]