Terramin to appeal dismissal of Bird in Hand gold mine refusal review
Listed Adelaide company Terramin said it “intends to appeal” yesterday’s decision of the Supreme Court of South Australia, which dismissed the miner’s application for a review of the state government’s decision to refuse a mining lease application near the Bird in Hand winery in the Adelaide Hills.
In a short statement, the company said future updates would be provided to shareholders as the matter progressed.
Justice Kourakis of the Supreme Court of South Australia dismissed all of Terramin’s arguments in favour of a judicial review of the state government’s decision to refuse a mining lease and the governor’s decision to reserve the land from the operation of the Mining Act.
In 2015, Terramin purchased land 2km east of Woodside near prime Adelaide Hills vineyards, including those grown by South Australian vintner Bird in Hand, and applied for a mining lease in 2019.
The project was opposed by neighbouring landholders and vineyards, including Bird in Hand Winery and Petaluma Wines, due to concerns about potential environmental impacts.
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The Department of Energy and Mining then produced a 255-page assessment report that deemed Terramin’s project could “be undertaken in an environmentally responsible manner”. The department also said Terramin’s proposal satisfied all relevant regulatory requirements.
But Energy and Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis exercised ministerial powers to reject the project on February 8, 2023, saying at the time, “there remains a possibility this proposed short-term mine may adversely affect the established and significant long-term agricultural and tourism industries of the Woodside area immediately adjacent the project areas”.
Terramin appealed to the Supreme Court in August 2023. It claimed that the Minister’s decision was “not based in evidence or on scientific grounds” and was “unintelligible and/or irrational in the face of the very thorough and detailed Assessment Report” produced by his department.
Terramin also claimed it spent more than $15 million over its four-year application process before being rejected. The company sought legal costs from the state government.
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Further, Terramin challenged the Governor’s 27 April 2023 decision which reserved the company’s land from the operation of the Mining Act, thus blocking it from ever being mined. The company challenged the Governor’s decision on multiple grounds, including that the decision was “unreasonable” and “was motivated by political considerations”.
Justice Kourakis dismissed Terramin’s application for judicial review of both the Minister’s and the Governor’s decisions in a 22-page decision.
Koutsantonis yesterday said the court’s decision meant that “Adelaide Hills businesses are breathing a sigh of relief”.
“I was not willing to risk established local industries against the opportunity a short-term mine may have provided to the state,” he said.
“I’ve always stood by my decision and the fact that proper process was followed, which has been reflected in the decision of the Supreme Court today to dismiss the judicial review application.
“The area of the proposed mine is home to a world-class viticulture industry, producing some of Australia’s best-loved wines.”
Local member Dan Cregan said future generations would “come to see this decision as unquestionably the right one”.
“My community remains concerned that a future Minister under a different government would approve this mine,” Cregan said.
“Proposed underground blasting through a fractured rock aquifer close to the township of Woodside raises many risks. The aquifer supplies water to iconic state industries in the Hills, including world-class wine and tourism businesses.”
