'The Douglas Mine' also known as the 'Douglas and Echo Mine' is a mineral sands mine near the small Western-Victorian town of
Balmoral. It was established in 2006 to mine
rutile
Rutile is an oxide mineral composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2), the most common natural form of TiO2. Rarer Polymorphism (materials science), polymorphs of TiO2 are known, including anatase, akaogiite, and brookite.
Rutile has one of the highest ...
and
zircon
Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of the r ...
, and then closed in 2012. Watpac, the construction company responsible for mine operations, estimated that it extracted 7.5 million tonnes of mineral sands from the mine.
Current Status
Iluka Resources stated that it is committed to rehabilitating the site. However ''The Age Newspaper'' reported that Iluka Resources "is seeking approval to continue to operate the Douglas mine site as a dumping ground for up to 20 years because laws require mining companies to be operating a mine in the state to be able to process and store byproduct." The ''ABC'' reported that radioactive gas, a byproduct of the mineral sand mining, had been reported at levels that exceeded the "maximum for public exposure". After the mine closed, ''The Wimmera Mail-Times'' reported that local landowners were concerned that the levels of air and water contamination were not being independently monitored. However, the
Victorian Environment Protection Authority
The Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) is Victoria’s environmental regulator. EPA is an independent statutory authority, established in 1971 under the ''Environment Protection Act 1970'' (EP Act). EPA's role is to prevent and red ...
declared that "it has found that neither pollution or environmental hazard has occurred nor is likely to occur in the future as a result of current and proposed Pit 23 disposal activities."
References
External links
Watpac mine construction company
Iluka mine owners
{{Mines in Victoria
Mines in Victoria (state)
Zirconium mines in Australia