Abandoned mine shafts remediation at Ravenswood

The historic mining town of Ravenswood, 100km south of Townsville is being made safer with remediation work starting on old mine shafts in the area.

Assistant Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Lisa France said 22 historic abandoned shafts would be backfilled, with some to be capped with concrete as required.

“We promised at the election to grow tourism and resources as two pillars of the economy, and making these old mine shafts safe delivers on those commitments,” Ms France said.

“Some of them are up to 90 metres deep and pose a potential risk for anyone who ventures near them.

“It is common with old mine workings like these to have a network of tunnels, which over time may have eroded and could collapse.

“The remediation work will minimise the chance of a resident or visitor falling into an old shaft.

“We have targeted our works program to ensure abandoned mine shafts are remediated on a priority base.”

Member for Burdekin Rosemary Menkens said mining continued to play a role in the town and along with tourism forms an important part of the regional economy.

“The old shafts and tunnels are part of small-scale workings that flourished with the discovery of gold reefs in the area in about 1870,” Ms Menkens said.

“The ‘rush’ continued until 1920, although gold was still extracted up until the late 1940s.

“These remediation works deliver improved safety for the community and tourists visiting the region.”

The Department of Natural Resources and Mines’ Abandoned Mines Unit is supervising the remediation program, after consulting local council and landholders. The project is being carried out by a contractor and will be completed within a month.

The Abandoned Mines Unit has an ongoing program across Queensland to remediate old mine shifts and address public safety risks associated with abandoned mines on state-owned land.

More information on the management of Queensland’s abandoned mines is available at www.dnrm.qld.gov.au or by phoning 13 QGOV (7468).

Abandoned mines which might be a safety risk or hazard can be reported online at
http://mines.industry.qld.gov.au/safety-and-health/report-abandoned-mine-site.htm

[ENDS] 28 March 2014

Media contact: Kate Haddan 0418 373 516