Fears for long term economic impact of mine collapse
Australian miner Cloughed Geothermal Ltd, the third largest private sector miner in the world and operator of the world’s largest coal mine in Victoria, will pay $300 million to settle civil claims arising from the collapse of the mine in Westpac’s Westpac Goldfields in September 2006, according to a statement from Westpac Goldfields.
The company’s decision to settle the claim, which came after the government’s compensation program was set up in 2008, came after a year-long process of „close consultation“ with community leaders, Aboriginal groups and local communities, according to a report on the legal proceedings from Australia’s Financial Review newspaper.
The Mine Accident Settlement Fund, established by Labor’s 2008 mining crisis and set up to recover damages to people and ecosystems, is intended to compensate for some $10 billion, the Financial Review noted.
Laying out the full scope of the lawsuit, the legal analysis found that the mine could not be repaired, nor the mine’s emissions „displaced.“ The amount of mining and environmental impact claims the government had to defend during the legal proceedings was approximately $17.2 billion, according to the analysis, but a further $28.2 billion may have been claimed as우리카지노 collateral damages. The payout by Westpac would total $20.7 billion.
„The company will continue to monitor, analyze and review the state of its mines over the coming years,“ said Westpac Goldfields Chief Executive Keith McDevitt. „This settlement gives our shareholders confidence that the costs will be recouped in other jurisdictions through the compensation system and continues to offer compensation to the community for the economic, social and environmental damages suffered during the events of September 2004.“
There has been no specific legal claim to the mine since the collapse of the mine, which shut down shortly after closing on Sept. 11, 2006. The company said it had not determined how much it would owe for the mine collapse, b바카라ut the amount was estimated to be $9 billion. The company had $5.6 billion in liabilities as of its most recent filing in the federal court system.
Laying out the specifics of the settlement agreement, Westpac Goldfields noted that the settlement will compensate the Australian government with up to $1.29 billion in total, which it expects to recoup from the state governments of New South Wjarvees.comales ($3.79 billion), South Australia ($3.4 billion) and Queensland ($3.4 billion). The remaining $3 billion or less in liabilities will b