The troglobite that held up the mining giant Rio Tinto has been vanquished. AAP reports as follows:
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Western Australia’s environmental watchdog has reversed its decision to block a $12 billion iron ore development to protect a tiny spider-like creature. In March, the Environmental Protection Agency rejected plans by mining giant Rio Tinto to develop a $12 billion iron ore mine near Pannawonica in the Pilbara region to protect tiny underground troglobites unique to the mine site. The troglobites, four-millimetre-long distant relatives of the spider, have existed in Australia for millions of years, feeding on organic matter on rocks deep underground. Last month, Rio’s Robe River Mining division provided the minister with new information he had requested to do with a changed mine plan to protect the troglobites and evidence they could live under the pit after mining.
I am pleased to hear that once mining is finished, the troglobites will be able to re-establish a new home beneath the floor of the new open pit. Where will they live during mining, I wonder?
