An increase in mining exploration in the Woodstock area has prompted the NSW Farmers Association to call a meeting in the town next month.
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Vice president of the NSW Farmers and Cowra farmer Chris Groves said the meeting, to be held on Monday, December 10 from 7pm a the Woodstock Bowling Club, is an opportunity for farmers to become more aware of their rights.
“The issue is there appears to be a lot of mining exploration east of Cowra, connected with looking for gold and valuable minerals,” Mr Groves said.
“The NSW Farmers Association has a lot of experience in this field in terms of access agreements and letting farmers know their rights.
“The meeting will be an opportunity for members and non members (of NSW Farmers) to find out their right’s, what mining companies can and can't do,” Mr Groves said.
A number of mining companies have undertaken exploration activities in the Woodstock area in recent years, most recently Fortescue Mining which in August this year conducted drilling in the area for copper.
The mining company said it was carrying out the work following consultation with landowners.
A locally based and owned drilling contractor was contracted for the project which saw a drill rig operate 24 hours a day for two months.
In 2013 the NSW Aboriginal Land Council shocked environmentalists when it lodged an exploration licence for coal seam gas for many parts of the central west, including areas east of Cowra.
Another company, Gold and Copper Resources has also carried out exploration in the area.
In 2017 the company announced it was conducting an Induced Polarisation (IP) survey across an area around Woodstock which consisted of teams of three people walking across properties taking readings every 100m.
As far back as 2013 a spokesperson for the company told the Cowra Guardian "Mines are very difficult to find, there's people out there looking for the father, brother or sister of Cadia but exploration is like research, it is very difficult”.
The spokesperson said “there is nothing sinister about exploration licences and there is no cause for alarm”.
Mr Groves said it is not known which companies are behind the latest spike in exploration.
“About 20 to 30 producers, in the last month, have received a letter notifying them of exploration on their farms,” he said.
“Farmers certainly do have rights,” Mr Groves said.
“The have to be able to protect the bio-security of their operations and make sure they are covered for any damage during exploration.
“They also have to make sure they are appropriately compensated for the uses of the land in the future,” Mr Groves added.
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