Big, healthy eucalypt trees in Roe Creek are falling victim to sand mining, according to two members of the public who have contacted the Alice Springs News.

The mines are either side of the Temple Bar Gap, south of the Ilparpa Road.

“For the past week or two I have been hearing and seeing multiple semi trailer loads of sand exit the areas of the sand mines onto Ilparpa Road,” says one of our contacts.

“I’ve seen at least one B-double or two to three semi trailer loads; side tipper trailers full of sand leave Ilparpa Road around dawn, 7:40am, again around 9am and 11am.

“Then I have seen one more enter the site in the afternoon too. Around 5:15pm to be exact.

“The sand mining appears to have gone unchecked, because of the amount of devastation that has caused massive old trees to simply fall down and die completely.

“The creek looks very sad indeed, with weeds growing in the middle of the river, rocks displaced, huge existing trees with exposed roots, some just waiting to die and fall down from some wind, or even if sand continues to be mined.

“The erosion had gotten so bad it’s visible even downstream.

“It appears the creek has been cleared completely beside the hillside. It looks very deep, much deeper than it should if it was left in a natural state.”

Alex Vaughan, spokesman for the Arid Lands Environment Centre (ALEC), says its opposition to sand mining at Roe Creek without appropriate controls is long-standing.

The large, mature river redgums are essential as nesting sites for several species of birds.

A local group, Letters for the Environment, has published a “case card” about the effects of sand mining.

Upstream, excavation of a mining pit creates a ‘nick point’.

When the river flows the water crashes over the nick point into the pit (creating waterfalls and eddies). This erodes the walls of the pit. This ‘headcutting’ erosion gradually extends upstream, mobilising large amounts sand from the riverbed.

Much of this is deposited into the mining pit.

Downstream: As streamflow moves beyond the site the amount of transported sand leaving the site is now less than the sand carrying capacity of the flow.

This sand-deficient flow or ‘hungry’ water picks up more sand from the stream bed and banks below the mining site, furthering the degradation process.

Degraded stream habitats result in significant loss of biodiversity that stretches from the river bed and shoreline flora and fauna to the whole floodplain area.

The process is said to endanger a caravan park just upstream from Temple Bar Gap, on the southern bank.

The Alice Springs News is seeking comment from government instrumentalities about their control of Roe Creek mining.

Update November 26, 3pm:

Tim Burrow CEO, Extractive Industry Association of NT, provided the following statement:

Your article raises unsubstantiated concerns and presents them without balance, evidence or the voices of specialists directly involved in creek management.

This has resulted in several misleading impressions about both Roe Creek and regulated sand extraction in Central Australia generally.

Firstly, the article implies that sand mining is occurring “unchecked.” In fact, all commercial operators in the Alice Springs region are legally required to comply with NT Government approvals, environmental management plans, water extractions controls, and rehabilitation requirements. These include regular inspections, sediment controls and limits on extraction depths to ensure that natural recharge and riverbed integrity are protected.

Suggesting that mining is happening without oversight is not supported by the regulatory framework or current compliance processes.

Secondly, the article blames sand extraction for trees “dying completely” and being “just waiting to fall down.”

River red gums naturally fall due to age, storm damage, shifting water flows, and disease. The public would be better served by measured assessment of tree decline, not anecdotal sightings.

Roe Creek has experienced recently major floods, and traditionally long dry times, rural block development and changes in vegetation type, all well-documented contributors to riverbank stress. Singling out regulated sand extraction ignores the broader environmental context.

Thirdly, the erosion explanation quoted from an activist pamphlet is presented as fact without geological verification.

Arid-zone creeks like Roe Creek behave differently from permanently flowing rivers: flows are episodic, channels naturally shift, sand naturally mobilises, and sediment banks are constantly re-shaped.

These geomorphic processes pre-date mining by millennia. The suggestion that one legal, commercial pit could “endanger a caravan park” up or downstream is a serious claim that requires evidence, not speculation from a lobby group.

Finally, the article overlooks the benefits of responsible sand extraction. Sand from Roe Creek supplies essential material for local construction, roads, housing, and community infrastructure without the need to truck material hundreds of kilometres at far greater cost.

If this sand had to come from distant creeks, building projects, including much-needed homes for local and remote communities, would become even more expensive. Responsible extraction supports local jobs and keeps the Territory affordable as it grows.

Environmental protection is essential, and scrutiny of any resource activity is welcome. But public discussion should be based on science, not photographs, assumptions or selective quotes. I urge the Alice Springs News to include hydrologists, ecologists, and government regulators in future reporting so that residents receive a full and factual picture.

We all care about the health of our landscape. Balanced information helps us protect it properly.

[ED – Before publishing I emailed the NT Government’s Geoscience Info, on Tuesday at 13:06: “Please ring me re sand mining in Roe Creek.”

At 14:42 received an email containing this: “As per NTG policy I will pass your query on to someone who will be better placed to get back to you, especially given you haven’t provided any details of the sort of information you are chasing.”

I am still waiting to hear from that “better placed” person so I can ask him/her about the government’s management of Roe Creek sand mining, monitoring of any environmental damage and other matters that would arise. That request remains current and I’ll deal with any response in a further update. Erwin Chlanda, Editor]

Update November 27, 16:19

The NT Government provided the following statement: Sand extraction at Roe Creek is tightly regulated, and subject to rigorous oversight by the NT Government.

All activities are conducted under the Northern Territory’s Mineral Titles Act 2010 and the Environment Protection Act 2019, which impose strict conditions, including monitoring and enforceable environmental safeguards. Additionally, severe flooding events in the region have been independently assessed.

These scientific assessments found no conclusive evidence that sand extraction increased erosion beyond what the flooding itself would have caused.

See further comments on this article including from long time local residents at Alice Springs News.

This article appeared on Alice Springs News on 25 November 2025.