An Australian coal mining giant has been fined for damaging sandstone formations, some estimated to be millions of years old, in a New South Wales conservation area.
A NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) investigation found Centennial Coal's Mount Airly operation, north-west of Lithgow, caused fractures to internationally renowned pagoda rock formations.
"Following an investigation by our compliance officers, we have determined the breaches are unacceptable," a DPIE spokesperson said.
But there were fears the destruction in the Mugii Murrum-Ban State Conservation Area (SCA) could be worse than currently understood and the full extent of the damage would take years to uncover.
Surface cracks reported
An independent review, conducted on Centennial Coal's behalf, found 15 surface cracks related to mining activity in the most western corner of the Gardens of Stone.
Of those reported to the DPIE, the biggest was 250 metres long.
The damage was caused by land below the rock formations caving in.
The company must now carry out remediation work, which includes filling some of the cracks.
But Blue Mountain Conservation Society member Yuri Bolotin said that would almost certainly fail.
"The damage to pagodas is completely irreversible."
He said the stone towers did not occur anywhere else in the world, dating them between six million and 10 million years old.
More surface cracks possible
The mine sits about 300 metres below the surface.
Subsidence (ground movement) has exceeded 700 millimetres in some sections, more than five times the allowed limit of 125mm.
The company's Environmental Impact Statement had stated surface cracking was not expected from its panel and pillar mining techniques.
Centennial Coal acknowledged there may be more cracks that have not yet been identified.
DPIE found the company breached its consent obligations and fined it $150,000 for the offences.
The money will go towards NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service's conservation work in the area.
"The company will also be required to continually monitor and remediate any future cracks identified over the life of the mine," the DPIE spokesperson said.
An 'extraordinary travesty'
Capertee Valley resident Mary Thirlwall described the damage as an "extraordinary travesty".
"Unfortunately these impacts often aren't realised for years down the track."
Ms Thirlwall considered the fine to be petty cash for a mining giant.
"It's just saying, "Carry on" basically and they've got to because Mount Piper [a coal-fired power station] needs coal," she said.
An expansion was approved in December last year enabling Centennial Coal to mine up to 1.8 million tonnes of coal a year until 2037.
Centennial Coal has since reviewed its mine design to develop wider pillars in an attempt to keep subsidence at allowed levels.
A company spokesperson said it had "implemented changes to achieve its performance criteria".
It has begun mining underneath the adjacent Mount Genowlan, but both Ms Thirwall and Mr Bolotin warned it was even more vulnerable than Mount Airly.
Risks to a fragile environment
The damage has raised concerns about the NSW government's plans to turn the Gardens of Stone SCA into an eco-tourism playground for 200,000 visitors a year.
Chris Jonkers, from the Lithgow Environment Group, said around 120 cliff collapses had been recorded in the Lithgow region, almost all of which were above areas that had previously been mined.
He most recently observed one near Angus Place Colliery, which was mined from 1979 to 1980, and was owned by the NSW government at the time.
"It's not the sort of place you want to bring thousands of visitors — into unstable areas."
A NSW National Parks and Wildlife spokesperson said all infrastructure proposals were subject to rigorous assessment and designs would consider fragile areas.
Deputy Premier Paul Toole said there were areas that "we won't have people going into".
