About the Quarry
Huh? What's a Quarry?
A quarry is a place where rock, sand and other materials are taken (or "extracted") from the ground. The quarry Boral wants to build is called the Gold Coast Quarry (GCQ). It will be a Hard Rock quarry.
Impacts
Habitat Destruction
The quarry requires large amounts of room for operation, which means the destruction of the vegitated land that provides a habitat for many animals.
The site is home to 12 native mammal species, 11 native reptile species, 9 frog species and 69 bird species. Some of the vulnerable animals include Glossy Black-Cockatoo’s and White Bellied Sea Eagles. Koalas live on the site and are an endangered species. The site is also home to over half a million trees! Many of which will need to be cut down to make way for the quarry.
Living things rely on their environments to survive. What happens if their current environment is destroyed? You will be provided with more information on lifecycles and habitats in class.
Should a quarry be constructed in such a special area?
Residents are Close By!
The distances and interactions between spaces affect humans and environments. This is called "spatial interdependance", it means spaces have effects on each other. Do you think the quarry will effect the current spatial interdependance between residents and the site?
The nearest property border is only 120 away from the site border where Boral wants to build its quarry. Quarries are needed for construction, they allow people to get materials needed to build things, but should a quarry be so close to residents?
Quarrying Creates Noise!
The new quarry will create additional noise into the community from a number of sources. These sources include the operation of machinery that crushes the extracted stones ("crushers"), rock drilling and explosive blasting. Traffic from trucks and workers coming and going from the site will also create a significant amount of noise. How much noise is acceptable for a residential area?
Timeline:
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2009 -- Boral released its "initial Advice Statement" telling the public and Gold Coast City Council they wanted to buid a quarry on their land in Reedy Creek.
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The long application process began. Boral spent millions of dollars getting profesionals to evaluate the site and write what we call "Environmental Impact Statements" which are detailed looks at the impacts of the proposed development.
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July 2014 -- council declined Boral's application.
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August 2014 -- Boral appealed this decision (an appeal means to disagree with a decision and to try again, a bit like re-applying to construct the quarry. But this time, Boral are asking the State Government to review their application. The State Government has more power than council, they look after all of Queensland).
Quick Facts:
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The site that Boral wants to build their quarry on is 544 acres in area (that's over 2 million square metres).
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Boral have owned the land for over 10 years.
Here you will find background information about the planned Gold Coast Quarry at Reedy Creek and its impacts. You need to collect information and additional online research that will assist you in creating your project.
