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Print[ferro-alloys.com]The Australian environmental minister has granted another iron ore mine deal in Tasmania’s Tarkine region, this time to Venture Minerals (ASX:VMS) for its Riley Creek operation.
Last week Mark Butler, federal environmental minister, re-approved Shree Minerals’ (ASX:SHH) proposed iron ore mine in the north-west after the government overturned the initial approval and halted the project.
Now Butler has angered environmentalist groups again by approving Venture’s proposal for a two-year long project – subject to “strict conditions."
The Riley Creek mine’s main purpose is to finance the company’s flagship Mount Lindsay tin and tungsten operation nearby.
Environmentalist opposition mainly centers on a small Australian land animal, the Tasmanian devil, which is highly endangered – the coveted mining sites threaten one of the only remaining devil populations.
One of Butler’s conditions requires Venture to pay about $50,000 for every Tasmanian devil casualty – if the company kills more than two per year.
A group called the Tarkine National Coalition has been targeting the mining companies and this may not be its last stand: The coalition has vowed to take further legal action on both Venture and Shree’s approvals.
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