Cape York Bauxite Mine No More

The cancellation of a mine in Queensland is going to cost the state hundreds of jobs as per members of the opposition. Cape Alumina Limited (ASX:CBX) has cancelled a $1.2 billion worth bauxite mining project on the Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland as the project ran into trouble with the Queensland Wild Rivers declaration.

The Wenlock River was declared a wild river area in June this year. This has put a damper on the Cape Alumina Limited's Pisolite Hills project. The state environmental laws resulted in the project being cancelled.

Opposition leader John-Paul Langbroek said that the Labor government needed to immediately overhaul the legislation which was the cause of loss of jobs in the state. The Cape York project would have provided employment to the local Aboriginal communities.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh on the other hand made no apologies for the cancelled project. She felt that the decision was a win for the environment.

The managing director of Cape Amumina, Paul Messenger said that the wild rivers declaration of the government significantly raised the level of sovereign risk in Queensland. He also said that the cancellation of the project had cost $1.2 billion in new economic activity and hundreds of new jobs.