Premier Attempts to Salvage Billion-Dollar Gold Mine Shuttered Due to Indigenous Heritage

NSW Labor Premier Chris Minns has stepped in to try and save a mining project after federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek put a stop to part of it.

NSW Premier Chris Minns speaks to the media during a press conference at NSW State Parliament, Sydney, Australia, on June 4, 2021. AAP Image/Dean Lewins

Just over a week after federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek put a stop to a $1 billion (US$674 million) gold mine, New South Wales (NSW) Premier Chris Minns has promised to expedite any alternative plans to bring it to fruition.

Mining company Regis Resources was aiming to operate a gold mine at the McPhillamys Gold Project site near Blayney in NSW, but the plan came to a halt when Plibersek actioned section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.