Case Studies

Woodsreef Mine

Woodsreef Mine is a legacy asbestos mine in the NSW Northern Tablelands.

Open cut mining for asbestos first occurred at Woodsreef from 1919 to 1923.

The Chrysotile Corporation of Australia carried out large scale mining at Woodsreef between 1970 and 1983. Approximately 500,000 tonnes (t) of chrysotile, or white asbestos was produced from 100 million tonnes (Mt) of mined material.

The remediation of Woodsreef Mine has been conducted through the Legacy Mines Program.

Conrad Mine

Conrad Mine is a silver and base metals mine located near Inverell in NSW’s Northern Tablelands. The mine operated sporadically between 1898 and 1957 under various names and operators.

Although previous rehabilitation has been undertaken the site is still considered high risk.

The Legacy Mines Program has previously completed works at the site, capping the upper and lower tailings and improving drainage.

Ottery Mine

The Ottery Arsenic and Tin Mine (Ottery Mine) is located 8km northeast of Emmaville, NSW. The Glen Smelting Tailings Emplacement at Tent Hill (Tent Hill) is located 5km northeast of Emmaville, NSW. Both sites are the source of substantial concern due to them being significant point sources of arsenic as well as acid and metalliferous drainage issues.

Ottery was worked from 1882 until 1957, being one the first tin and arsenic mines in the Emmaville district. Ore was mined, crushed and partly processed in furnaces at Ottery prior to smelting at Tent Hill. Given its age, Ottery has important historical features with significant conservation and heritage value.

Historical mining and processing activities at Ottery and Tent Hill have left behind residual mining wastes such as, waste rock dumps, tailings storage facilities, and a slimes dump. There are also arsenic salts coating the historic Ottery refinery. Residual mining wastes act as contaminant point sources for the generation and release of acid and metalliferous drainage (AMD) into the downstream environment.

Captains Flat (Lake George) Mine

The Lake George Mine is situated at Captains Flat, approximately 50km south-east of Canberra. The mine operated from 1892 until 1962, producing lead, zinc, copper, pyrite, silver and gold.

Extensive rehabilitation work has been conducted since closure to control erosion, improve safety and to control tailings pollution leaving the site. Current and ongoing issues include Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) seepage and heavy metal contaminants leaving the site, with zinc being the primary contaminant of concern.

Although previous rehabilitation has been undertaken, AMD issues persist.

Read more about Captains Flat (Lake George) Mine.