Protesting grandmother arrested at mine

Linda Gilmour was arrested at The Karangahake mine this morning. Photo: Supplied.

A grandmother refusing to let New Talisman Gold Mines employees get to work has been let off with a ‘pre-charge' warning.

Linda Gilmour was arrested at the Karanghake mine site earlier this morning.

She has lived in the area for 35 years and says she was forced to sell her home in Waihi after conditions there became unbearable because of mining operations.

'To hear a mining company is coming here [to Karangahake], all I can think of is the lies we were told, the noise, the blasting, the trucks, the total lack of thought for the intrinsic values of life,” says Linda.

"I love this mountain and all the beautiful walks around here. We should not have to share conservation land with a mining operation."

New Talisman director Matthew Hill says today was a normal day.

'The walkers turn up, the cops are there at the same time. They don't slow us down for a minute and we keep going to work,” says Matthew.

'They have been totally ineffective, the police have been doing a wonderful job. We've got security up there we have got cameras installed so we see pretty quickly when they are there before our guys have even turned up towards work. We ring the cops, the cops are there and they ask them to move aside and our guys go to work.”

Linda Gilmore raised her children in the area and her family has spent a lot of time in Karangahake gorge, walking, camping and now cycling.

'They love it here, and so do my grandchildren," says Linda.

"A lot of money has been spent on the cycle trail and other tracks in the Karangahake Gorge to successfully encourage tourism, to start mining here now is ridiculous.”

Linda is happy the group now has the commitment of the Labour and the Green party to extend the Schedule 4 land classification, protecting Coromandel land from mining.

'But I think it's disappointing that Maggie Barry is refusing to consider the idea,” says Linda.

The protestors are more likely to turn up if the weather is good, says Matthew.

'If it's a rainy week they are not up as much.”

He had a really good chat with an early morning protestor he met on the way to the mine today, and learned she was concerned about the pollution of the waterways from the mine.

It's not true, says Mathew. The anti-mining protestors did a review of the consent and their own water experts said there would be no impact on the water from the Talisman operation.

'And don't believe us, believe Waikato Regional Council who did an independent one that said there will be no effects on water.

'The prospecting operation is well ahead on budget and is sitting on top of some of the highest ore grades found in New Zealand and among the world's top ten.

'It's amazing, the gold grades are just unheard of,” says Matthew.

'The market has slowly picked it up that on gold-in-ground basis we are incredibly undervalued.

'We just keep pushing along slowly but surely. It's a bit like being a truffle pig I guess. You just keep burrowing and burrowing until you get one.”

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2 comments

mine

Posted on 14-08-2017 13:13 | By dumbkof2

i suppose none of these protesters will turn up looking for work when management starts looking for workers. nah just stay home and stay on the benefit


The nature of things

Posted on 14-08-2017 14:33 | By SonnyJim

If one moves into a known gold bearing area and not expect mining, is it not a bit like building on a flood plain then feigning surprise when it floods?


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