Could you perhaps be thinking of the giant fences that shield the moonscape from passing motorists? Very similar to the noise barriers you would see where housing is close to busy roads...What lies beyond is a disgrace. The last thing I saw about it all was that the giant holes might be turned into dams/lakes, and people can enjoy water sports on them.Yes, it's reasonably well known. Estimates I saw were greater than the 10x quoted, and that was a few years ago. If you feel like a bit of chuck in your mouth google earth Collinsville Qld, or the hunter area in NSW. Back in the day 100m used to get you something, now it's a nice house in Sydney, but alas it won't rehab a mine site. Those voids will never be filled so don't bother stressing about it, it simply will not happen, they'll be repurposed. Down in the Hunter, there will probably be a great big visual bund so punters veering from one vineyard to the next won't notice it and ruin their day.
Much of the issues with rehab have been covered by Michael West http://www.michaelwest.com.au/half-a-dozen-ways-out-of-rehab-for-coal-companies/ FWIW #2 & #5 were (&prob still are) the most popular. Of the mines that I saw that were supposed to close, not a single one did and AFAIK none have yet, and they were supposed to close a LONG time ago. What do you know, the production curve just kept pushing out year after year, then what do you know, we need to put the mine on care and maintenance because there are reserves, but they just aren't economic to exploit right now so the mine will just take a little nap. Despite carrying provisions for the rehab work on the books, nobody wants to close these mines and commence formal rehabilitation of them.
You also might/might not be surprised how often the rehab work which has annual targets was dug up & destroyed (regardless of it's maturity) to chase more coal that had suddenly become economic to pursue again. So year on year, rehab #'s looked good/on track for that year, but net rehab for a site, let alone an expanding site could be total horsesh1t. Houses and holes gentlemen, that's all we're good for.
The fines aren't large enough, the rehab requirements are too low, or there's too many ways to avoid doing it.Why do you think that is, possibly because the government issues large fines and the miners just go about their business of digging large holes again.
And by charging those stupid prices they encourage some people to do the wrong thing, like dump it in the bush.It's curious that a state that has the biggest freaking holes in the ground is also the one that charges $290 a tonne to put stuff in landfill.
Unbelievably, you can dump at private dumps that sort for recyclables by hand, then put the waste on a train to dump it in Queensland, and 30km up the road you have holes that desperately need filling in with something.
Fuck that's a lot of work! Why not just drop it on the side of the road? We have so much bush land around that is perfect...It's curious that a state that has the biggest freaking holes in the ground is also the one that charges $290 a tonne to put stuff in landfill.
Unbelievably, you can dump at private dumps that sort for recyclables by hand, then put the waste on a train to dump it in Queensland, and 30km up the road you have holes that desperately need filling in with something.
The company I work for leases the office buildings and workshop around a dis-used underground mine. The rent is cheap because if no-one is using it they have to close down properly, there is just a big ol' concrete slab over the mine shaft.Could you perhaps be thinking of the giant fences that shield the moonscape from passing motorists? Very similar to the noise barriers you would see where housing is close to busy roads...What lies beyond is a disgrace. The last thing I saw about it all was that the giant holes might be turned into dams/lakes, and people can enjoy water sports on them.
I've spent quite a number of years working in mines around Australia and the company I actually worked for, either helped restore them or construct new ones. I think a lot of the problems are from previous processes of the mining industry from yester year. You end up with large old tailing dams where you have soil that is contaminated to the point that there is very little you can do with it. As technology develops, processes of extracting precious metals have been refined and become more cost effective or the price of what every they are mining has increased so they will reinstate the mine. It then puts the onus on who ever refines the old tailings or mines to do the right thing.The company I work for leases the office buildings and workshop around a dis-used underground mine. The rent is cheap because if no-one is using it they have to close down properly, there is just a big ol' concrete slab over the mine shaft.
From what I understand mines can lay dormant like this indefinitely just in case it becomes financially viable to open the gates again.
I recall some years ago in the hills of Wollongong we were putting some equipment in for a mine that was reopening. Over the decade or so since they locked the gates the suburbs had crept up the hill and all of a sudden a bunch of poor bastards were living next door to very busy coalmine LOL
anyway, Pauline on QandA.... she hasnt changed a bit, still having no policies of her own and twisting peoples words into hate-speak :lalala:
Yeah, not good to see or hear things like this.Sounds like AMD. Not many talk about the perpetual water poisoning, the problem is bigger each year. Course it can be treated, but it's expensive and easier to stave off any action.
Check this, 3 ex-labor ministers intending to buy Rio's Blair Athol mine in central Qld for $1. It has rehabilitation expenses estimated between $150-300m, and $80m held by the Govt in financial assurance. Be nice to think they are doing it for any well intentioned reasons, but in all likelihood after they've milked it in all ways unholy that only ex-ministers can think of that the can will get kicked down the road to the next opportunist.
So f*cking what.It is a f*cking ridiculously costly exercise, which many of us knew before Labor picked it up as a point of difference.
As if the private sector would have delivered it at all, or cheaper.Hope all who wanted it in place are happy to be paying huge prices for internet in the future.
NBN + netflix is still cheaper than ADSL + Foxtel. I'm just not happy the libs stuffed it so royally that I won't be getting it anytime soon and now every bulk news video on RB takes a while to load.Hope all who wanted it in place are happy to be paying huge prices for internet in the future.
Then TPG is absorbing much higher costs to your connection.Having recently connecting to the nbn with Tpg, it is both cheaper and faster than what was available previously. Really don't get the drama, it's faster, more capable and more future proof than the previous infrastructure.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Theoretically.Could be nonsense but an engineer friend at Telstra was explaining to us that 5G will make NBN redundant in the near future.
We'll see I guess. All seems a bit like private sector/newscorp style hysteria to me. As if right now, I'm better off with a much better cheaper productThen TPG is absorbing much higher costs to your connection.
And TPG share price went into free-fall the last couple of days due to the factors the Financial Review article is talking about.
The NBN access for TPG is MUCH higher than they had on their own networks (or whoever they were using) which means their profit margins on connections has fallen dramatically. TPG share price fell about 20% yesterday wiping approx. $3billion from the value of the company.
TPG is having to absorb the extra costs from NBN, as will all internet providers. This will mean less profits - and/or more expensive internet for consumers. Companies cannot long term absorb the costs, in time the internet for everyone will be more expensive. There is NO getting around that fact.
NBN is NOT a cost-effective product. It has had many laws changed to enable it to be the monopoly internet backbone. It was a dumb idea from the outset.
You fail to understand everything has a price attached.So f*cking what.
As if the private sector would have delivered it at all, or cheaper.