Longwall

• Longwall - how it works, how it wrecks

Some collieries, striving towards more cost-efficient production, are now considering longwall widths of 400 metres or more.

• Longwall mining: NSW Scientific Committee

"Mining subsidence is frequently associated with cracking of valley floors and creeklines and with subsequent effects on surface and groundwater hydrology."

• Longwall mining debate gagged

Lee Rhiannon moves a motion in Parliament to debate the damage being caused to rivers, creeks and wetlands in NSW as a result of subsidence from longwall mining

• Subsidence kills 

Seven major rivers and numerous creeks in NSW, named below, have been damaged permanently by mining operations which have been allowed to go too close to, or under, river beds.

• Stop coal mine expansion under Sydney water catchment

Threat to Cataract dam: Lee Rhiannon has called on the NSW government to stop the expansion of longwall coal mining under Sydney’s water catchment

• BHP BILLITON: “river wreckers"

BHP Billiton is one of the worst 'river wreckers', with current expansions of coal mines in the Southern Coalfield of NSW proposed to mine within an unsafe distances to vital rivers, in a region where their operations have already caused significant and irreperable damage to water resources.

• Time to introduce 1km buffer on waterways

Lee Rhiannon has called on BHP Billiton to agree to a one kilometre buffer around all creeks and waterways on its mine sites, following news of the company’s record $16.68 billion profit for the last financial year.

• Govt’s Mining Act review fails to protect rivers, community health

Labor and Coalition MPs joined forces in the NSW Upper House this evening to vote against a one-kilometre buffer zone around rivers and waterways Greens MP and mining spokesperson Lee Rhiannon said.

• Maria’s 11 year subsidence battle, Lithgow
• Subsidence predictions under the Hume Highway in the Illawarra
• Government buys more homes after Ipswich mine collapse

• Newnes Plateau

Subsidence due to mining underneath the Newnes Plateau has damaged the aquifers that feed the endangered Newnes Plateau shrub swamp. Some swamps which appear to be alive and well on the maps are actually drying out because they have been damaged, and mining companies assert that the damage cannot be proven to be caused by subsidence.

• Wyong mine subsidence map

An interesting map detailing subsidence areas, current mine operations, and their proximity to conservation areas and townships.