Crow weighs in to Irwin fight

Enviromine

Publishing Date: 05 May 2009 12:10pm GMT
Author: Mining, People and the Environment

Ecology & Biodiversity

Australian movie-star Russell Crow joined Terri Irwin (wife of the famous crocodile hunter Steve Irwin) in a fight to prevent Cape Alumina Pty Ltd from developing a bauxite mine in northern Queensland.

Mr Crow told David Letterman on the Late Show that it was “global irresponsibility” to allow a bauxite mine to be developed near the Wenlock River, which flows into Steve Irwin’s wildlife reserve.

“There are some species there of plants and animals that don’t really appear in other places,” the actor said.

The claim has been backed by research being conducted by Craig Franklin of the University of Queensland, who claims to have discovered a new ecosystem at the site.

Furthermore he claims that the reserve’s rare ecosystem may be the result of highly acidic springs caused by a reaction with locally occurring bauxite.

But the claims have been rejected by Cape Alumina, which said that hydrological investigations performed at the site have shown no causal link between the existence of bauxite and the acidity levels of the springs.

“Scientists working on the Pisolite Hills environmental impact assessment have shown that the spring water is moderately acidic, lying in a pH range between 4.6 and 6.4 just below the pH levels of rainwater,” the company said.