“Open-cast mines are for keeps, so no to gold prospecting”
Excellent opinion piece from Richard Reeve in the Otago Daily Times on the late Brian Turner, poet, essayist, author, environmentalist and acclaimed Otago legend.
“Turner died last month. While he was by no means the only voice of conscience in the region, his death leaves a painful hole in the community in terms of the example set by his vigilance.
He was willing to be counted as an unapologetic naysayer in the face of endless schemes concocted by opportunists at the expense of the natural environment. And he was quite right that the long-term adverse effects routinely undercut the alleged merits of projects at proposal stage.
A rash of gold-mining is now being proposed for Otago. The Otago Daily Times has reported Minister of Resources Shane Jones’ view that “with the government taking a more permissive approach towards mining, and the price of gold soaring, ‘people are prepared to chance their arm”’. (11.2.25).”
Read the full article – https://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/open-cast-mines-are-keeps-so-no-gold-prospecting?fbclid=IwY2xjawI6-LRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHbf9jzSAlRGgesAj5GAMl-PfpVngHN6Kd-ZGkiXgeLKkHaUkg-zphMFexg_aem_7BIpd9dF-Zb9GnXoZIBEtA