Wollongong relies heavily on two industries to underpin it's workforce, and they are both intertwined. We make steel in this city - and we mine coal. On Christmas eve the Planning and Assessment panel tasked with approving mining operations gave assent to Gujarat NRE to start their number 5 Longwall operation at Russel Vale colliery. Many people will give a sigh of relief that jobs have been saved - but others will wonder what sort of monster has been unleashed in the earth far below this city.
A century ago coal was mined by men wielding picks and shovels. Pit ponies spent their lives underground, hauling skips of coal to where they could be brought to the surface. Mining was a dangerous job and the unions were strident in demanding ever improving pay and working conditions for miners. The introduction of mechanical equipment to mine coal was treated with deep suspicion and resistance.
Eventually, the mining companies won the mechanical battle and today the economics of mining rests on the use of Longwall equipment to gouge out an endless stream of coal at a cost that meets world competition. The existing Longwall at Russel Vale mine had exhausted it's coal seam and 520 mining job were dependent on a new Longwall operation getting the green light from the Assessment panel.
The problem with Longwall operations is that it leaves a big hole where the coal has been removed, and this leads to subsidence of the land above. A group calling itself " Illawarra Residents for Responsible Mining " ( IRRM ) has wanted this issue put before a public meeting to be fully examined before any decision was reached. Obviously, that will now not happen.
Conditions were attached to this approval. The length of the new Longwall has been reduced from 1145 metres to 845 metres and this will reduce the impact of subsidence on the land above, but the boffins are unclear on how mining by this method will interact with the dams, lakes, rivers and streams that supply our drinking water. At the same time, the earth beneath our feet is under attack from gas miners who intend to apply a " fracking " process to un-mined coal to release methane gas stored in the deposits.
IRRM wants all forms of mining closely examined to determine future outcomes for this city before we make decisions that set events in motion. Unfortunately, we do not have the time factor on our side. Gujarat NRE either starts to mine coal again - or those 520 miners are out of a job. That must have had a major impact on the Christmas eve decision.
It seems to be a matter of crossed fingers - and hoping for the best. In a perfect world, these sort of decisions would take place after long and exhaustive investigation of all the aspects involved. In the real world, future risk takes second place over the issue of jobs that put money in people's pockets and sustain the community in which we live.
That hasn't changed since the days when coal was mined with pick and shovel !
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