Community celebrates withdrawal of mining exploration application in Albany’s west after two-year battle

Albany locals are in “disbelief” after winning a two-year fight to block mining exploration in the city’s west. Last week Mac Sands Pty Ltd formally lodged an application to withdraw two applications for exploration in parts of Torbay, Marbellup and Elleker. With the Torbay Catchment Group leading the charge, the community had vocally opposed the applications, which were also being challenged through the warden’s court. Torbay Catchment Group project officer Pip Tilbrook said members were relieved when informed midweek that the mining company had lodged a withdrawal on Tuesday, April 2. “There has also been a bit of a feeling of disbelief almost, that the news will take time to sink in, I think that is the result of the length and intensity of this fight,” she said. “We had just secured our witness list and were close to producing and lodging witness statements. “To suddenly not need to go any further is a bit of a shock to the system.” Locals have been fighting exploration applications in the area for more than two years, including the latest applications by Mac Sands made in February last year. After appeals for its support, the City of Albany council committed to developing a clear policy on how it would respond to future mining applications impacting city-controlled land. Ms Tilbrook speculated the cost of potentially defending the challenge in court may have led to the application’s withdrawal but said the “determination of the community” was one of the most important factors. “The community effort has been incredible and without that effort I think the result could have been different,” she said. “No single person has been responsible for everything, which has been very important when we’ve been doing this for two years. “We do have such an amazing community to stick it out this long.” The community living between Albany and Denmark is still wary of future applications, but believe they are now in a better position to challenge them. “We have a whole new skill set,” Ms Tilbrook said. “We understand the process and have a bit of a handle on the Mining Act. “We also have collected and collated a lot of local information, we have made contact with expert witnesses and importantly, we know where to go for legal assistance, which was something we struggled with for a long time.”