On 10th May 2013 the Tasmanian Minerals Conference put out the following media release:

In Tasmania, they came, they mined, they left ... 681 times

The downside legacy of mining in Tasmania from the days before modern environmental management and rehabilitation is 681 abandoned mines throughout the state.

They date back to mines that operated in the 1890s and up to the 1970s. Of those 681 abandoned mines, 215 contain rock that is potentially acid-producing.

Board member of the Environment Protection Authority Louise Cherrie told the Tasmanian Minerals Conference today that each mine with the ingredients for acid drainage potentially impacts on soil, groundwater and surface water. Only one of the legacy sites, Savage River Mines, has remediation funding.

“It is a phenomenon of the past,” she said. “Today mining companies have to meet the full cost of rehabilitation in advance through payments into a trust fund.”

It was a point underlined by Minerals Council of Tasmania executive director Terry Long.

“We have finance assurance bonding. We can’t let this happen again.”