Concerning levels of manganese dust in a remote Northern Territory Indigenous community built near a mine has environmentalists calling for tougher laws.

December 16, 2021

Environmentalists have called for more robust Northern Territory mining laws after high levels of manganese dust were allegedly found in a remote Indigenous community.

Angurugu on Groote Eyelandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria, 630km east of Darwin, sits next to the world’s largest manganese mine.

Its 1000 or so residents are exposed to dust from the South32’s Gemco mine with “concerningly high levels” of manganese detected in some residents, according to the Environment Centre NT.

Tests in 2018 on the hair and nails of children and adults living in Angurugu found high levels of the mineral, director Kirsty Howey said on Thursday.

Despite the concerns about the potential health impacts, the NT Environment Protection Authority has not placed any independent air quality measurement stations on the island.

“This mine demonstrates the need for more robust mining laws in the Territory,” Ms Howey said.

“It should be incumbent upon the mining company to ensure, and to demonstrate, that their activities are not having adverse impacts on the local population.”

Ms Howey called for independent specialist and peer reviewed studies of the impacts of mining activities in the NT.

She said there should also be transparent and timely reporting to the public.

“These two critical reforms that would go a long way toward preventing concerning situations like what we are seeing on Groote Eyelandt,” she said.

The manganese mine has been operating since the 1960s.

A previous study found that an Indigenous person in Angurugu had twenty times the amount of manganese in their scalp compared to someone living in Sydney, according to ECNT.

South32 said it had dust control measures in place to monitor ambient dust in real time and actively manage mine activity to ensure it remains below guideline levels.

It said it did not believe the mine was impacting the health of the Anindilyakwa people.

“Our data, collected in alignment with national guidelines, demonstrates that ambient dust in Angurugu is below the annual National Environmental Protection Measure guideline levels,” a spokesman said.

The company said it would continue working with the Anindilyakwa Land Council to reduce dust and would consider all independent scientific information available.

It has also created a natural dust barrier using vegetation between the mine and the community.

The company has also moved ore stockpiles to reduce their exposure to wind, sealed a main road, built a physical barrier and started using high-volume water carts in operational areas.

Manganese is a naturally occurring mineral and essential nutrient found in foods such as nuts, legumes, seeds, tea, whole grains, and leafy green vegetables.

Chronic inhaling of manganese or drinking water containing high levels of it over prolonged periods can cause damage to the lungs, liver, kidneys and the central nervous system.

Symptoms such as tremors, slowness of movement, muscle spasms, tinnitus, hearing loss, and poor balance are also possible.

South32 is an Australian mining and metals company that was spun out of BHP Billiton in 2015.