Is this what we want in Golden Bay?
Landowners living near the Cadia gold mine, one of the world’s biggest goldmines located in Australia’s central west NSW, have launched an environmental class action in Australia’s Supreme Court alleging contamination of more than 2,000 properties. This mining operation was only developed in the 1990s by mining giant Newmont.
Lawyers for the claimants allege arsenic, heavy metals and forever chemicals known as PFAS have travelled from Newmont’s Cadia goldmine onto properties in a 17-kilometre radius.
Community members are seeking compensation from the mining giant, saying the pollution has damaged their property values through a “toxic trifecta” of air, surface and groundwater pollution.
Residents flagged pollution concerns with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) in 2018, after the mine’s tailings dam wall collapsed.
A hearing is scheduled for March.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-03/rural-community-launches-class-action-against-major-goldmine/106295724
