In short
The NSW Supreme Court of Appeal has upheld an appeal against the Bowdens silver mine project near Mudgee.
The court found the state's Independent Planning Commission failed to consider the impacts of a transmission line when it granted the approval in 2023.
What's next?
The mines' parent company Silver Mines Limited said it was disappointed and would explore its options.
The future of a silver mine in Central West New South Wales is in doubt after a court upheld an appeal by a community group.
On Friday, the NSW Supreme Court of Appeal upheld an appeal lodged by the Bingham Catchment Landcare Group against Bowdens' silver project, east of Mudgee.
In April last year, the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) approved development consent to build the open-cut mine and to process more than 30 tonnes of silver, lead and zinc over 23 years.
However, the local landcare group argued the planning commission should have examined the potential environmental impacts of the project's transmission line, which was due to be considered separately.
The company omitted the 13-kilometre transmission line from its initial Environmental Impact Statement, citing ongoing discussions with landholders.
The NSW Department of Planning and Environment later stated that the transmission line would require a separate application.
On Friday, a panel of judges in the state's Court of Appeal found the IPC failed to consider the impacts of the transmission line.
Accordingly, the mine's approval has been deemed "void and of no effect", and construction, which was due to begin this year, cannot proceed.
A spokesperson for the mines' parent company, Silver Mines Limited, said it was working with its legal advisers to assess the implications of the decision.
"We are disappointed by the judgement," a spokesperson said.
"[We] will now consider the implications of this decision for the Bowdens Silver Project as well as what this decision may mean for the future of the minerals industry in NSW more broadly."
Local landcare celebrate victory
President of the Bingham Catchment Landcare Group, Jack White, said they were feeling "relieved and vindicated" by the decision.
"It confirms our view for many reasons that this project should never have been given the tick of approval," he said.
"Overall, there were so many issues with this project, and that is not essentially what has caused it to come undone, but it's in a way satisfying that the truth has come to the front in the end."
For the past four years, the Mudgee Region Action Group has been fighting the development, claiming the impacts of silver and lead in the air and surrounding groundwater could be disastrous.
Member of the action group, Gary Rush, said the court's decision showed the need for major reform in the planning approval process.
"It brings into focus the real need for significant overhaul of the approval planning process," he said.
The action group was also concerned that the project could have potentially cleared more than 300 hectares of native vegetation, which it said included koala habitat.
"Mudgee Region Action Group aren't opposed to mining generally; what we were taking into account here is that this was heavy metal mineral mining," Mr Rush said.
"As we know, lead has a very detrimental impact on human health, particularly children.
"It [also] has an internal impact on the environment and we didn't want a lead mine in an area like Mudgee to occur.
"We rallied and we used everything at our disposal."
On Friday, Silver Mines told the Australian Stock Exchange that the "preparation and submission of a new development application for the project, including power supply options is being considered".
In response, Mr Rush said, "I guess it's not over until it is over".
Decision 'sends a message'
NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann welcomed Friday's decision, deeming it a "massive win" for the local community.
"The community should never have had to wage this battle in the first place," she said.
Ms Faermann said the area where the mine was proposed provided habitat for endangered koalas, spotted-tailed quolls, critically endangered regent honeyeaters and swift parrots.
"Anyone with common sense would think that a massive toxic lead mine should not be built right in the heart of Lue," she said.
"[It's] a wine and tourism hotspot, within just two kilometres of the local primary school.
"The government must now step in and ensure this highly productive, culturally significant and ecologically sensitive region is protected in perpetuity from any exploration or mining."
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