Friends of Stradbroke Island

Here’s something to think about when considering the mining companies' claimed commitment to Straddie and economic contribution to the island. In a letter to the ASX in May ’09 (prior to the Unimin takeover), CRL stated: “the company will move from the current two mine operation on NSI to a single mine operation when mining at Yarraman is completed in late 2013. . . No immediate job losses result from the strategy but with only one mine operating on NSI, employee numbers are expected to approximately halve by 2014.”

In one of its recent publications Unimin subsidiary CRL suggested the anti-sand mining position adopted by FOSI and other groups was a “personal choice” (The Sand Times, Sept 2009). We agree. We live here. So do our kids. It's not my backyard!... mining executives live in Melbourne and Europe, far from where the impact of their decisions is felt.  The decision-makers in Unimin live in Melbourne and Europe. One less dune, Banksia or wallaby doesn't matter much to them! We choose green space, bushland and intact ancient dune systems on the doorstep of a major urban area for generations of Queenslanders to enjoy. They choose destruction of dunes and bushland, short-term jobs, profits for a private Belgian company and paltry royalty payments to the State. What do you choose?

Paul Vekselstein and Sue Ellen Carew attended the CRL Environmental Working Group (EWP) meeting and mine tour in August.Company spokespeople answered questions, gave an update on mining operations and showed community representatives around some of the mine operations.These photos were taken during the tour:  Now you see it – now you don’t ... (left) mining operations devour bushland at CRL’s Yarraman mine.  Moonscape ... (right) drains like this have replaced creeks and gullies formed over thousands of years.

In the last year the global economic crisis together with new scientific predictions of the rapid escalation of global warming are factors that have radically altered most people’s world view. I am sure most FOSI members consider the island much more in a global context than we did only a year ago. The implications for North Stradbroke Island, already suffering environmental harm from inappropriate development, sand mining and water extraction, and very nearly an oil spill, become ever more unpredictable. Sea level rises, extreme weather events, mining companies ever more fixated on the bottom line and searching for profitable activities, and developers with the same problem, a larger population in Redlands drawing on the aquifer – all these are potential impacts on our poor island. FOSI’s activities over 2008 included involvement in two legal cases. One involved CRL’s attempts to quarry huge volumes of sand from the island (around 500,000 tonnes per annum) for the construction i...

New owner for CRL Stradbroke silica sand miner Unimin Australia , subsidiary of a Belgian-based private mining company, is the new majority shareholder of island sand miner CRL (Consolidated Rutile Ltd).  CRL dry mining on NSI (Photo: CRL Image Library).  CRL’s previous majority owner Iluka (51%) agreed to sell its holding to Unimin, which already owned 19% of CRL’s shares. The Foreign Investment Review Board approved the transaction. Unimin’s plans for CRL are unknown.  Facelift for hall The Point Lookout Hall is set for a facelift. The State Government recently announced it would provide $284,000 to Redlands City Council to help renovate the hall. Council had previously allocated significant funds to the project. Thanks to Councillor Craig Ogilivie and former State member Phil Weightman for their help in securing this funding. Café land grab? FOSI has opposed moves by the owners of the Look café to expand its floor space onto public land. The Look café ...

Prior to its takeover by Unimin, Consolidated Rutile Ltd (CRL) announced major changes to its North Stradbroke Island sand mining operations. In a May release to the stock market the company said it anticipated the mining operation at Yarraman would be completed in 2013 and its rig dismantled and taken off the island. The Enterprise Mine would remain and mining of this resource would be extended by four years to 2027. The company said it expected employee numbers would halve by 2014 as a result of these changes. CRL said should the Unimin takeover be successful, these changes would be subject to review by the new owner. Friends of Stradbroke Island (FOSI) sees these changes as an indication of the marginal nature of sand mining on North Stradbroke Island. They provide further evidence that the small gains in terms of jobs, royalties, input to the economy and local purchasing provided by mining is not worth the cost: plants and animals destroyed, dune systems, lakes and creeks...

In our last newsletter we reported the unanimous decision of the Redland City Council in August, 2008, to reject a proposal by a Consolidated Rutile Ltd subsidiary to take sand from the island and sell it to the construction industry. Such sand is not a ‘mineral’ under the Mineral Resources Act. The application involved the establishment on the island of a significant new extractive industry, which on the figures provided by the mining company could last for 98 years. The mining company claimed in its application to the Council that up to 10 extra jobs would be created if its proposal was approved. CRL has appealed the decision. In early April, there was a two-day hearing of several preliminary points of law which could bring the appeal to an end. The court has reserved its judgement. However, there has been another development, which will become very significant if the court decides the preliminary points in CRL’s favour. Prior to the State election on 21 March, several FOSI and S...