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Subscriber only The discovery of a thought-to-be extinct bee proved one of our most popular stories this week. And for good reason. Our Facebook page was abuzz with comments about the Eungella find, excited about the extraordinary discovery but also the community support. I suppose now is the time to say people swarmed to celebrate the find and were bee-witched by the apparent randomness of it, but it is a credit to PhD candidate James Dorey who had traversed the eastern coast of Australia from South Australia up to Cairns to research bee evolution. But hopefully the find can evolve the region s story too, that the wonders of what s up in the mountains will inspire more people to visit.
Centennial Coal mine expansion threatens endangered sites hit by Black Summer mega blaze
SatSaturday 27
FebFebruary 2021 at 9:59pm
The company wants to mine underneath Tri-Star Swamp, left, having already mined under Carne West Swamp.
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There are fears threatened habitat and species which survived the Black Summer bushfires in the New South Wales Blue Mountains could be lost if a coal mine is allowed to expand.
Key points:
Centennial Coal mine s expansion is expected to cause subsidence at a series of endangered at Newnes Plateau
It wants to mine underneath a number of swamps that are listed as endangered ecological communities
The national Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development (IESC) has provided advice three times to the Queensland government on the proposal.
In December, the latest report from IESC said it had “extreme concern that the predicted impacts are not readily mitigated, especially the discharge of mine-affected water into Broad Sound and the [Great Barrier Reef world heritage area]”.
The report added: “The IESC cannot envisage any feasible mitigation measures, including offsets, that could safeguard these irreplaceable and internationally significant ecological assets and their associated water resources.”
Key problems with the mine, the IESC said, included “significant and irreversible damage to internationally valued estuarine and near-shore ecosystems subjected to mine-affected water” as well as risks to creeks, pools, and the direct loss of 8km of waterways.
Date Time
Proposed Clive Palmer mine moves to assessment stage – Reef concerns need urgent consideration
Great Barrier Reef campaigners are urging government officials not to greenlight Clive Palmer’s Central Queensland Coal Pty Ltd proposed mine as Queensland’s environment department announced today it was allowing the plan to move to the next stage of assessments.
A damning report from the Independent Expert Scientific Committee (IESC) on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development has found the mine poses significant risk to surrounding reef ecosystems with no way to offset the damage from mine-polluted water.
The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) said the new open cut coal mine, situated just 10 km from the World Heritage Reef, would be disastrous because mine affected water could flow into Queensland’s largest fish habitat at Broad Sound, north of Rockhampton.
Reef campaigners decry decision to move CQ mine forward cqnews.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cqnews.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.