Bellevue Gold ‘fully committed’ to protection of Aboriginal heritage on and under Lake Miranda

Bellevue Gold says it is “fully committed” to the protection of Aboriginal heritage at Lake Miranda north of Leinster through its agreement with the local native title holders. One of those native title holders, Colleen Berry, has applied to Federal environment and water minister Tanya Plibersek seeking protection of the lake, claiming its cultural heritage is “under threat” from Bellevue’s activities. According to an advertisement in Thursday’s editions of the Kalgoorlie Miner and The West Australian newspapers, Ms Berry has made the application under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984. In a statement to Kalgoorlie Miner, Bellevue said the protection of Aboriginal heritage at Lake Miranda was a key pillar of the legally binding native title agreement signed in 2022 between Bellevue and Tjiwarl Aboriginal Corporation. The corporation is the prescribed body representing the 11 families — which has about 350 members, including Ms Berry — who the Federal Court has recognised as the native title holders of the area which hosts Bellevue’s $252 million namesake project. Bellevue said its native title agreement included an extremely detailed and comprehensive cultural heritage management plan. “Under the plan, the cultural heritage of the area under Lake Miranda was assessed by Tjiwarl Aboriginal Corporation and it was agreed that subsurface exploration and mining would not affect cultural heritage,” the company said. “The plan includes specific, highly detailed management measures for activities on, around and under Lake Miranda, including access prohibitions, activity planning and ongoing environmental impact management. “Bellevue is complying, and will continue to comply with, all requirements of the plan. “No surface disturbance of the lake area is allowed under the native title agreement and plan, and Bellevue has not disturbed, and will not disturb, the surface of the lake. “There is provision in the plan for mining under the lake.” Bellevue said it had agreed at Tjiwarl Aboriginal Corporation’s request to undertake the clean‐up, at Bellevue’s cost, of historic tailings that were deposited on the surface of Lake Miranda during operations by a company — not Bellevue — in the 1980s and 1990s. “Bellevue is confident there are strong grounds to support a refusal by the minister of the application for a number of reasons,” it said. Those included the native title agreement with Tjiwarl Aboriginal Corporation and the “extensive process” to put the agreement and heritage management plans in place. The company said there were “significant protections provided to Lake Miranda” and the deal was unanimous. Corporation chief executive Greg Ryan-Gadsden said the agreement with Bellevue provided comfort to the native title holders regarding protection to Lake Miranda from mining activities. Mr Ryan-Gadsden said the cultural heritage management plan also provided clear and strong procedures for ongoing protection of heritage, including Lake Miranda. “Tjiwarl Aboriginal Corporation recognises the mutual benefit that they and Bellevue both derive from their agreement and co-operation,” he said. Ms Berry said she was passionate about protecting the country were she grew up and was worried the cultural site — the lake — would be damaged. “My family had a long association with that country,” Ms Berry told the Kalgoorlie Miner. “We’re custodians . . . we look after the lake.” The newspaper advertisement said Ms Berry claimed drilling underneath Lake Miranda would “interrupt the Dreaming pathway of the snakes and destroy the Tjukurpa”. “The applicant states that this will break the Tjiwarl people’s spiritual connection with Lake Miranda, and the traditions which relate to the lake will die out,” the advertisement said. The Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has authorised the advertisement, and in it Newcastle-based Alison Stone said she had been appointed to prepare a report to Ms Plibersek on Ms Berry’s application. The ad said Section 10 of the Act gave Ms Plibersek the power to make a declaration “to preserve and protect an area where the minister is satisfied that it is a ‘significant Aboriginal area’ under threat of injury or desecration”. A spokesperson for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said it would not be appropriate to comment on an active application. But the spokesperson confirmed there were no provisions for orders to stop work under the Act. It is understood the laws have no time frame for a response to be finalised.