all on tenterhooks

Denniston decision


Miners, Fairdown residents and environmentalists
are waiting with bated breath for tomorrow?s
scheduled decision on the Denniston Escarpment
Mine project.
Australian company Bathurst Resources is seeking
consent to build an opencast mine on 200ha of
public conservation land at Denniston, and a coal
processing plant at Fairdown.
The consent hearing fi nished on August 8. A fi nal
decision is expected tomorrow.
However, there is a high possibility of it being
appealed in the Environment Court, should either
Bathurst or mine opponents be unhappy with the
outcome.
Access agreements and concessions still need to
be obtained from the Department of Conservation
before mining can begin.

Also from the Westport news, Thursday front page