A tributary of Lake Macquarie on the NSW Central Coast has been filled with over 180 tonnes of concrete by contractors working for coal giant Glencore Xstrata.
The Newcastle Herald uncovered the environmental disaster after investigating mine subsidence at the state conservation area. The pumped concrete reportedly stretches over 400 metres down a hillside and dries up less than a kilometre from Cockle Creek that leads to Lake Macquarie.
In some places the concrete is more than one metre deep and five metres wide.
A worker who had been involved in the remediation project described the creek grouting as an “absolute catastrophe”.
He said Orica Mining Services employees, contracted by Glencore Xstrata, were attempting to grout a large subsidence crack at the top of a ridge in the reserve in June.
They were unaware that more than 12 concrete trucks worth of grout was spewing out another crack at the bottom and running straight into the creek.
Read more details and see video footage here: http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1738386/sugarloaf-coalmine-subsidence-repair-disaster-video-pictures-poll/?cs=305.
