Lax mining laws Advertiser Dr. Jim Green29/11 AT its annual general meeting on Thursday, BHP Billiton CEO Marius Kloppers said the company will not relinquish legal privileges contained in the Roxby Downs Indenture Act.This 1982 legislation exempts the Roxby Downs (Olympic Dam) uranium/copper mine from South Australian environmental and Aboriginal heritage protection laws and also curtails the Freedom of Information Act……………………………………….no excuse for ultra-lite environmental standards. BHP Billiton proposes digging a pit of about 20 cu km, increasing uranium production to 19,000 tonnes per year, increasing water consumption to 150 million litres daily, and increasing radioactive tailings production to 70 million tonnes per year.Yet the company wants to retain its exemptions from the SA Environment Protection Act and the Natural Resources Act.Haven’t events in recent months taught us about the perils of lax corporate regulation?
