Event Day - GRCCC & National Parks BHP Mine Visit
On the 31st July, the GRCCC and representatives from Macarthur Branch of the National Parks Association visited three mines in the Wollondilly Shire.
The first stop was the BHP West Cliff Mine. The group visited a Stage 1 restoration site, where we were shown an area recently revegetated through seed dispersal methods. These seeds were sewn in just 30cm of capping soil.
The next stop was an Aboriginal site within the emplacement area. BHP have liaised with the local indigenous community about the management of the site and have installed a large drainage pipe to protect the site in the event of flooding.
The next stop was Brennan's Creek Dam. The dam has a total storage capacity of 307ML. BHP aim to maintain the water level in the dam at 11 metres, which is 1.5 metres below the spillway level. This practice is used to prevent uncontrolled spills over the dam wall and into the Georges River.
The next site visited was the Burkes Clay Pitt at Appin, which would be expanded into a new area. This mine is adjacent to a protected Shale Forest and the NPWS have been monitoring the operation and proposal for the mine expansion.
The final site visited was the Burkes Sandstone Quarry in Appin. This mine has reached it's capacity to expand within it's footprint and would be likely to operate for another 20-25 years.
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15 GRCCC members and friends board bus to the Wollondilly mines
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Visit 1 - Revegetation site at West Cliff
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Visit 2 - The Aboriginal site within the emplacement area
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Visit 3 - Brennans Creek Dam Pond - collects run-off from the emplacement
- Row divider
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Visit 4 - Brennan's Creek Dam
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Visit 4 - Brennan's Creek water outlet
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Visit 4 - Controlled releases of water from the dam are held in a reclaim pond
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Visit 5 - Burkes Clay Pitt at Appin
- Row divider
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Visit 6 - Burkes Sandstone Quarry in Appin
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Visit 6 - The sandstone is extracted via ripping and is used as road base and builders sand