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The head of an Australian mining company says he's committed to trying to get a gold mine built in central western New South Wales, despite federal intervention.
Regis Resources chief executive Jim Beyer maintains its McPhillamys project near Blayney is no longer viable in its current form after the Commonwealth granted an Aboriginal protection order over the location of its tailings dam.
He said while the company would look for another dam site, any new development application could be a decade away.
"The mine is gone under its current form. We are definitely going to be looking for an alternative to it," Mr Beyer said.
The tailings dam was proposed to be built on the headwaters of the Belubula River. (ABC Central West)
'Quite a task ahead'
The gold mine project was given the go-ahead by the NSW Independent Planning Commission in March 2023.
Its plans situated a dam to store mining waste on the head of the Belubula River.
Earlier this month, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek accepted an application by a coalition of Wiradjuri elders to protect the headwaters and a section of the Belubula River.
Mr Beyer said his company had considered other locations for the dam, but they encompassed the now-excluded area.
"We've got quite a task ahead of us to understand what the alternative is," he said.
"To identify a location for a tailings dam takes a bit of time.
"You need to do environmental surveys, heritage surveys, and geotechnical drilling. These all occur over seasons, not over weeks."
Chris Minns has faced questions on the McPhillamys gold mine during a visit to Orange. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
Earlier today, NSW Premier Chris Minns stopped short of promising to fast-track the approval of any updated plans.
He expressed his wish for the mine to be built, but would not guarantee a revised development application would be fast-tracked.
"Without having their alternative proposal on the table, it's difficult to say definitively," Mr Minns said.
"We've said to the company we don't want you to start from stage one.
"Our hope is that if an alternative site can be found, some modifications to the development application can be made."
Ms Pilbersek's order applies to 400 hectares of Regis Resources' 4,500 hectare site.
"If we want to protect cultural heritage, Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander heritage, then occasionally decisions like this to protect important places have to be made," Ms Plibersek said.
Regis Resources says its project is no longer viable after the federal environment minister's decision. (ABC Central West: Luke Wong)
"Once this river is destroyed, it's destroyed forever.
"So I've taken a decision to protect the headwaters and the springs of the river where the gold mining company plan to build a tailings dam."
Speaking in Orange on Thursday, Shadow Environment Minister Jonno Duniam called on Ms Plibersek to resign.
"It's a bad decision," he said.
Labor split
Ms Plibersek's decision has been criticised by NSW Labor.
NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe was quizzed about the issue during a budget estimates hearing on Thursday.
"New South Wales is disappointed in relation to the outcome, given it had gone through our independent process and we are hopeful that the mine will continue," she said.
"I'm not aware of the information that [Ms] Plibersek had in relation to this."
The minister told the hearing her federal colleague had not consulted with her prior to making the controversial decision.
"No, she did not speak to me, I've never spoken to the minister in relation to this," she said.
"I haven't spoken to her office as part of the process."
The NSW opposition has urged the premier to apply pressure to the federal government, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.