Outrage as Drought-Stricken Australian Region Approves Chinese Company’s Water Mining Operation

A Chinese-owned company has been granted approval to run a commercial water-mining operation in southern Queensland, sparking outrage among farmers.

An Australian farmer checks his phone for weather updates after feeding his sheep in a drought-affected paddock on his property in north-western New South Wales, Australia, on Oct. 3, 2019. David Gray/Stringer/Getty Images

A Chinese-owned company has been granted approval to run a commercial water-mining operation in southern Queensland, sparking outrage among farmers and landholders amid an extensive spell of drought in the region.

Royal Duke Holdings received approval last month from the Southern Downs regional council to run an Elbow Valley-based water extraction and distribution facility.