“Don’t talk to mining companies one-on-one. Don’t sign anything without a lawyer — not even an access agreement to your land.”
This advice to landholders came from solicitor Belinda Rayment from the Environmental Defenders Office who was at a community meeting at Drake Hall on July 28 talking about mineral mining exploration licences.
Legacy Minerals was in town scoping the area for critical minerals such as copper, zinc and silver. Read what Legacy said here.
There are many companies exploring locations for mining exploration.
Ms Rayment said these companies use the ‘divide and conquer’ tactic.
Once a landholder signs an agreement, they’re not allowed to discuss the conditions or money they receive with their neighbours.
This pits neighbour against neighbour, she said.
Clarence Catchment Alliance held meetings across the Clarence Catchment throughout July at Copmanhurst, Grafton, Dorrigo and Drake. There were 40— 60 people at the meeting in Drake.
Shae Fleming from Clarence Catchment Alliance wants to see the river and land in the Clarence catchment protected.
“The Clarence isn’t just where we live — it’s how we live,” Ms Fleming said.
There are 44 exploration licences in the Clarence catchment.
“The area is not suitable for mining and should be listed by the government,” she said.
“Once the water is contaminated…you can’t un-crack an egg.”
This is a phrase Southern Cross University’s hydrogeochemist Professor Scott Johnston has used at the community talks. He wasn’t at Drake but was at the other meetings.
Ms Fleming said the phrase sums up the threat to the Clarence.
“Water is more critical than minerals,” she said.
There are six councils in the Clarence catchment that support a mineral mine free Clarence Catchment— Kyogle, Clarence Valley, Byron Bay, City of Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Glen Innes Severn.
Janet Cavanaugh from the Clarence Environment Centre spoke about the impact of mineral mining on flora and fauna.
In the Clarence catchment, there were 170 animal species, 141 plant species and 15 ecological communities that were under threat. This included the barking owl, the glossy black cockatoo, koalas, grey headed flying fox, the rainforest cool skink, the brush tailed rock wallaby and others.
Past mining practices including the use of cyanide in mining processes had damaged the environment, she said.
Steve Ross has the threatened rock wallabies at his 1000ha property at the Clarence Wilderness Lodge on a wide section of the Clarence River.
Mr Ross has lived there for 43 years.
In 2010, the property next door to his was for sale. It was land with old growth rainforest and Mr Ross was interested in conservation and eco-tourism so he purchased the land.
There were also three mining leases on 256ha of that land.
“They hadn’t been mined since the 1990s,” he said.
Mr Ross admits he was naive in signing an agreement with the mining companies.
“For eight years all was well, with two investors extracting only about $30,000 worth of gold,” he said.
Mr Ross got the resource regulator involved to make the company rehabilitate the land.
“The regulator got me to agree to give the mining company access to the land for rehabilitation,” he said.
“The mining lease was renewed for another 21 years without Mr Ross’s knowledge.
Since then there has been tension, accusations and unauthorised locked gates on his property.
“I was being investigated for eight breaches to the mining act,” he said.
It is an ongoing battle that has taken its toll on Mr Ross.
The unfairness of the situation is common, Ms Rayment said.
The law favours the mining companies not the landholder, she said.
The Environmental Defenders Office is a national legal centre that gives free legal advice.
“You don’t own the minerals on your land,” Ms Rayment told the landholders.
Any person can apply for an exploration licence, she said. It cost about $10,000.
The government can authorise a mining exploration licence which allows a seismic survey, drilling and taking soil samples. It can also include clearing and construction of roads and tracks.
Ms Rayment reminded the audience that they can say No to an exploration licence.
A mining company can access your land without entering (aerial surveying), but if you sign an access agreement, they can come in and explore what minerals are on your property.
Ms Rayment told the audience not to sign an access arrangement provided to them by the mining company and to obtain legal advice before signing anything.
“You can say an outright NO. Mining companies can take you to arbitration and the arbitrator makes the decision,” she said.
“You can then appeal to the Land and Environment Court.”
A man in the audience shouted out, “The whole thing stinks of a lawyer’s picnic.”
Ms Rayment said the mining companies used questionable tactics to get peole to sign an access agreement.
“They’ll say your neighbour has signed, they’ll say you’re the only one holding out, they will offer money, they will use other locals to gain access to you,” she said.
She recommended never speaking to mining companies alone and to create a What’s App group so neighbours can keep each other informed.
Mr Ross and Ms Fleming are in Sydney today, Wednesday, August 6 to meet with ministers at Parliament House.
They will be speaking with the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully, Minister for Natural Resources Courtney Houssos, Minister for Environment and Heritage Penny Sharpe and Minister for Water Rose Jackson.
What will they tell them?
It’s simple.
To make the Clarence Catchment a mineral mining exclusion zone.
Below are the exploration licences (EL) and mining licences (ML) in the Drake area.
About the Clarence Catchment
The Clarence River catchment is on the far north coast of NSW, situated around the city of Grafton.
The Great Dividing Range makes up the western boundary between Stanthorpe and Glen Innes, the Doughboy Ranges and the Dorrigo Plateau in the south make up the southern boundary, and the MacPherson Ranges make up the northern boundary.
The eastern boundaries are defined by coastal ranges from Coffs Harbour to just south of Wooli, and by the coast from Wooli to around 8 kilometres south-west of Evan’s Head. The river enters the ocean between Yamba and Iluka.
The catchment is made up of tablelands in the west which fall away to the relatively large, flat coastal floodplain. It has an area of 22,716 square kilometres. Source NSW Government.
This article appeared on indyNR.com on 6 August 2025.
Related story: The search for copper, zinc and silver in village with complex gold mining history
