Air-Quality Monitoring Recommended for State’s Mines

The public should have access to air-quality data from all New South Wales (NSW) mine sites amid concerns about the facilities’ impacts on health and the environment, an inquiry has found. The recommendation was one of a series from a state upper-house inquiry into the impacts of heavy-metal mining. The probe on Dec. 15 delivered a report calling for a review of clean-air regulations. It heard concerns from residents living near the Cadia gold mine, near Orange, whose former operator has admitted to breaching environmental laws. Cadia was previously owned by Australia’s biggest goldminer, Newcrest, which was last year fined the maximum-allowable penalty of $15,000 (US$10,000) for failing to maintain effective coverage of a dust suppressant at two of its facilities....