Though we are trying to understand and appreciate that
any industrial activity is viewed as progress we do not
feel Teleo Projects PTY Ltd or their consultants Warthog
Geo-Environmental PTY Ltd are the best fit for our
community as our relationship with them is already
riddled with dishonesty and mistrust.

We are largely nervous about mining activity in our
community because we have witnessed in neighboring
communities a stone throw away from us promises
made to them not being kept. We can not afford
dismissive consultation which is so far what
characterises Teleo Projects and their consulting
company. We have done our research and are alert.
And if at such an early stage, we already do not feel
comfortable and confident that Teleo Projects PTY
Ltd has our best interests at heart what happens next??
Our attempt at engagement has been met with
hostility. Our understanding is that should someone
indeed get prospecting rights they need to be able to
listen to us as negotiating for our heritage, impact on
the environment, possible relocation and fair
compensation largely depends on our interactions with them.

Teleo does not seem to think they need to involve us.
They have engaged a community leader (an apparent
king) who seems to think his main purpose is to work as
a shield between us and them whereas transparency is
key because should Teleo indeed win the prospecting
rights, we have a long way ahead. They do not seem
keen on fostering any relationship with our community.

Which we find disingenuous and worrisome because
in a way, we are meant to fully depend on their good
graces for our interests. For most families this area,
that Teleo is asking to tap into is all they have and all
they are. Our livelihoods depend on this land, we
have ancestral graves going back to the early 1700's
and yet we can not trust Teleo enough to listen to us
on a 2 minute telephone call, how are we to build
rapport? How are we being asked to trust them to handle our earthly interests?

We have seen the devastation from neighbors and
cannot afford indifference. How are we to discuss
heavy topics like an amicable compensation
agreement, possible relocation and our heritage,
when a mere telephone call asking about a missing
Basic Draft Assessment Report sets them off? How
are we going to have robust debates on social and
labour plans when they are making it clear this early
they would rather not deal with us?

We have lost all confidence at Teleo being indeed a
good fit for us. Various case studies and academic
papers outline clearly the challenges mining coal
brings in a community and for us it is imperative that
prospecting rights are granted to someone who will
hear our grievances and see us. The current
applicants seem to think they can just blast through
our community for what they need without having to
deal with us by engaging only our supposed king.

Even the public notice was found by chance in an in an obscure area behind some tanks which seems to have only been good enough for their photographs (it was not at the Library last we
checked) and then it makes reference to a Draft
Basic Assessment Report being available for public
viewing from the 22nd of November 2024. To date
it is not available and Dundee Library in itself was a
strange and obscure choice because we do have
other libraries that are much closer. Requesting the
soft copy from Warthog Geo-Environmental as the
public notice purports was met with hostility and
retribution and veiled threats. We were made to
feel like we were doing something wrong for asking
for it when it is their very notice that said we should and claimed it was available.

We do not think Teleo Projects PTY Ltd understands
the need nor have it in its plans to foster an
amicable relationship with members of our
community. They see themselves as an uppity and
sophisticated organization that does not have to
deal with mere underlings that are us the land
owners. This has built mistrust and we are much
more nervous than ever before about our interests
in the process being taken care of.

They were invited to our first public meeting which
they snubbed. According to them they will call their
own at the time they deem fit and the community is
then I guess, expected to show? How is this a two
way relationship?

The objections on the current notice pertain to the environmental impact issues as follows;

• Degradation of our land: mining can remove topsoil leading to erosion nothing will grow for our livestock to graze on and it will be devastating to small scale
  farmers that depend on farming for a living.
• Acid mine drainage can pollute our water. Making it impossible to drink for us and our livestock and to water plants.
• Air pollution. With all the harmful gases and hazardous air pollutants coal mining emits, it can cause respiratory problems.
• Solid waste that coal mining produces which is often prone to combustion. An lots of methods of waste disposal affect the land either way.
• Health issues from lung disease from exposure to coal dust.
• Loss of habitat for animals and plants and even locals.
• Possible death of our livestock.
• Extensive degradation to the ecosystem and permanent scarring of our landscapes.
• Damage to animals humans and plants caused by habitat destruction and the contamination of the environment.
• Greenhouse gas pollution ab toxic air pollutants
• Ailments like asthma, respiratory problems, heart diseases, cancer, neurological disorders and premature death.
• Blasting impacts on existing structures.
• Sudden sinkholes.
• Exhumation of graves we would rather were left untouched.
• Possible forced removals and displacements.

Based on these possible devastating points listed above, we feel it is imperative that prospecting rights are granted to someone we can trust absolutely with what we
have and what we are and as it stands, Teleo Projects PTY Ltd and its Warthog Geo-Environmental PTY Ltd is not it.