A GROUP of Upper Hunter farmers, landowners, business people, health experts, parents and grandparents has united to call on decision-makers to protect the Upper Hunter from additional mining.
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"We're pro-communities, pro-local business and pro-farming and we've formed to ensure that the Upper Hunter has a sustainable, prosperous future for all of its residents," Friends of the Upper Hunter chairman Doug Robertson said.
"We're seeing frequent and worrying air quality exceedances that put the health of all residents at risk, heavy demand on our precious water supplies and agricultural land, industrial level visual and noise impacts and negative impacts on other local industries.
"We acknowledge the economic contribution that mining makes but we believe this region is at a tipping point in terms of the number of mines we can safely sustain."
The group says its most pressing concern is the Dartbrook underground proposal, which is currently before the Independent Planning Commission (IPC).
The IPC will conduct a public meeting into the proposal at the Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music in Muswelbrook on Tuesday, April 9, from 10am.
"The Dartbrook underground proposal is the thin end of the wedge," Mr Robertson said.
"It would mean the re-opening of one of the most dangerous mines in this region.
"A mine that a top tier mining company mothballed in 2006 after three deaths and persistent issues with gas, spontaneous combustion and flooding."
