by save lake cowal Sunday April 08, 2007 at 06:16 PM
Today over 80 people are occupying the mine site, disrupting work and shutting down mine operations at the massive gold mine at Lake Cowal near Condobolin in central NSW. People have locked on to machinery inside the mine site.
MEDIA ALERT
Sunday 8 April 2007
12.00 pm EST
Occupation of World’s Largest Gold Mining Company
Today over 80 people are occupying the mine site, disrupting work and shutting down mine operations at the massive gold mine at Lake Cowal near Condobolin in central NSW. People have locked on to machinery inside the mine site.
Wiradjuri Traditional Owners, locals, environmentalists and supporters from as far as Sweden, France and Canada are converging to protest the illegal operation of the worlds largest gold mining company Barrick Gold.
Wiradjuri Traditional Owner, Neville ‘Chappy’ Williams says. “We are the first nation of people in this land. Wiradjuri has never ceded our sovereignty over our lands and waters. We have the right to life. We have right to existence. We have the right to being Wiradjuri people in our own lands.”
Australian Student Environment Network’s national convenor, Nicola Ison says, “In the lead up t Barrick Gold’s AGM on 2nd May, Wiradjuri and their supporters are presenting an eviction notice to the gold mining giant.”
“Barrick gold is stripping NSW of its precious water resources, internationally significant wetlands and destroying Wiradjuri history and culture.”
“Barrick is transporting over 6000 tonnes of cyanide annually from Gladstone, Queensland to Lake Cowal, New South Wales, creating risk of spill and lethal contamination of waterways along the 1600 km transport route” says Ison.
Friends of the Earth campaigner, Holly Creenaune says, “While Australian communities are in the grip of devastating drought Barrick draws up to 17 million litres of fresh water each day at Lake Cowal. In the last 2 years, the water table has dropped 35 m due to Barrick’s mine.”
“We will continue to disrupt mining at Lake Cowal until there is land justice and water equity for Wiradjuri and central NSW communities.”
Contact:
Nicola Ison (ASEN)
0423 717 567
Holly Creenaune (FoE)
0417 682 541
http://www.savelakecowal.org
http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/gold/lakep.html
http://peacebus.com.cyber-pod.com/CyanideWatch/
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