Mining companies may be unable to prospect on private land throughout NSW if they failed to negotiate access with the mortgagee as well as the property owner, after a landmark decision in the NSW Supreme Court yesterday.
Farmers in the Liverpool Plains in northern NSW were last night celebrating after their first major victory over BHP Billiton in their bid to protect one of Australia's most fertile food bowls from the threat of coalmining.
The mining giant paid $100 million to the NSW government for an exploration licence in the region four years ago, and under that licence it has won the right to access to 21 private properties.
Click here for more about how farmers triumphed over miners.
