Australian farmer Tim Duddy is locked in a bitter legal battle with a large Chinese mining company that holds the exploration licence over prime agricultural land. Photograph by: ,Torsten Blackwood, Afp-Getty Images, Agence France-Presse
The Liverpool Plains were long considered off-limits to mining, their rich black soils ranking among Australia's best farming land. Until China came to town.
Now a small group of farmers who have refused to sell out to China's Shenhua Watermark Coal are locked in a battle playing out across the nation - mining boom versus the future of food.
Seventh-generation farmer Michael Clift and neighbour Tim Duddy say coal mining has always been a part of life in the area - an ancient coalburner stove has pride of place in Duddy's kitchen.
But the nature and scale of mining has changed dramatically in the past 10 years, the smaller shaft-style mine replaced by vast open pits that leave craters in the landscape and fill the air with dust and noise.
The Calgary Herald
No comments:
Post a Comment