Captains Flat (Lake George) Mine
The Lake George Mine is at Captains Flat, approximately 50 kilometres south east of Canberra. The mine operated over several decades starting in the late 1880s and closing in the 1960s, producing lead, zinc, copper, pyrite, silver and gold.
Extensive rehabilitation works have been carried out since the mine closed to manage erosion, improve safety and control tailings pollution from the site. Current and ongoing issues include seepage of acid mine drainage (AMD) and heavy metal contaminants spreading from the site, with lead and zinc being the primary contaminants of concern.
Site description
Lake George Mine covers about 100 hectares with the main mine infrastructure extending underground to a depth of 619 metres. Numerous shafts and adits were present at the surface, and structures for ore storage, processing, loading and transport remain at the site. There are 2 large mine tailings dump areas (northern and southern).
Current remediation project
Remediation work commenced in November 2023 to improve safety and environmental outcomes.
The project involves treating historic mine waste and encapsulating it in a purpose-built containment cell before revegetating the site. Areas currently without vegetation will also be treated to promote vegetation growth.
Work will be carried out in stages, with strict monitoring and controls in place to ensure public safety and minimise impact on the environment.
Throughout the work, the Lake George Mine site will be closed to the public for safety reasons and fencing will be put in place in key areas.
Remediation work is expected to be complete mid-2026, weather permitting.
Should you have any questions about the remediation works please call 1300 814 609.
Q. Why is this remediation work being carried out?
A. Work is being carried out to improve safety and reduce risks to the environment. It will involve treating historic mine waste and encapsulating it in a purpose-built containment cell before revegetating the site. Areas currently without vegetation will also be treated to enable vegetation to be established.
The project team is supporting Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council and other NSW Government agencies to deal with contaminated soil in the community while the project is underway.
Q: Which areas of the site are going to be remediated?
The remediation works focus on parts of the old mine site that present the highest level of risk, including:
- the Central Mine area, the area in and around the lookout
- the Mill area, which is down from the Central Mine area and includes the large ore silos and former processing facilities
- the rail loading area.
Q. How long will the remediation work take?
A. The Lake George Mine site will be closed from November 2023 until mid-2026 to allow the remediation works to be undertaken, weather permitting.
Q. What are the community and environmental impacts of this work?
A. Most of the scheduled work will be low to medium impact and will be delivered during stages. Strict monitoring and controls will be in place to ensure public safety and minimise impact on the environment.
Works will be guided by a construction environment management plan with strict monitoring activities and controls in place during remediation works to ensure public safety and minimise the impact on the environment. Monitoring will include air monitoring jars positioned at various locations within the Captains Flat township, including at the pool, pre-school and stationmaster’s cottage.
Q. Will Lake George Mine be open to the public during remediation?
A. During construction the Lake George Mine site will be closed to the public for safety reasons and fencing or signage will be put in place in key areas.
Q. Can I view the heritage structures during the remediation?
A. The Lake George Mine site will be closed to the public for safety reasons during construction and the public will be unable to view the heritage structures on the mine site.
Q. Will there be traffic impacts during the work?
A. Motorists may notice a small increase in traffic on Captains Flat Road as trucks enter and exit the site from time to time. During construction Miners Road will be subject to traffic management controls and may be closed during some periods and restricted to residential access only.
Old Mines Road will also be temporarily closed during the day throughout the course of the remediation works and restricted to residential access only. Traffic management plans will be in place to accommodate these changes and signs will display closure times.
Q. What about the heritage of the site?
A. Remediation works will also be carried out in consideration of the heritage values of the site.
Q. What will the mine look like at the end of construction?
A. The aim is to remediate the exposed areas of the mine site. These areas will be covered in rock mulch or vegetation to minimise soil erosion.
Q. Who can I contact for urgent information or to make safety or environment reports?
A. For urgent information or to make an environmental complaint report please contact NSW Resources division on 1300 814 609.
Q. Who do I contact for site access?
A. For site access contact the NSW Resources division on 1300 814 609.
Q. Will landowners be supported to manage lead on their properties?
A. Enquiries relating to management of lead on private land and related Development Applications should be referred to Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (1300 735 025).
Q. Will compensation be provided to private landholders for remediation works?
A. The NSW Government will not provide payments to individual landowners for remediation work on privately owned property.
Q. Will Crown Land lease holders be supported to manage lead on their leases?
A. Enquiries relating to the management of lead on Crown Land leases should be referred to NSW Crown Lands at goulburn.crownlands@crownland.nsw.gov.au.
Q. Will an allowance be made in the containment cell for private landholders?
A. The NSW Government has reserved capacity in the containment cell to be built on the mine site for material from the Captains Flat community and is working with Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council to manage the process.
Q. Are more tests being carried out for lead?
A. Lead testing enquiries should be directed to the EPA Environment Line on 131 555.
Q. Can I get my private land tested for lead?
A. Yes. Private landholders and residents can contact the NSW EPA for free soil testing. To enquire or arrange a test please contact the EPA Environment Line on 131 555.
Q. Can I find out if my livestock are affected by lead?
A. Contact Braidwood Local Land Services office for assessment and potential testing of at-risk livestock, by calling 4842 3800.
Q. What remediation is happening in the Station Master’s Cottage and the railway precinct?
A. Enquiries about the railway precinct should be referred to Transport for NSW on 1800 491 566 or by email at landassessment@transport.nsw.gov.au
Q. What remediation work is happening at Tarago?
A. Enquiries about remediation at Tarago should be referred to Transport for NSW on 1800 491 566 or by email at landassessment@transport.nsw.gov.au
Q. What is happening with the remediation of Foxlow Parklet?
A. Enquiries relating to Foxlow Parklet should be referred to Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (1300 735 025).
A Review of Environmental Factors (REF) has been prepared to assess matters affecting, or likely to affect the environment during the remediation of the Legacy Lake George Mine under the provisions of Division 5.1 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
You can view the REF and supporting documents here:
- Lake George mine - Review of environmental factors (PDF, 23.89 MB)
- Lake George mine - Review of environmental factors - Appendices A-F (PDF, 31.21 MB)
- Lake George mine - Review of environmental factors - Appendices G-H (PDF, 80.29 MB)
- Lake George mine - Review of environmental factors - Appendices I-O (PDF, 14.58 MB)
- Lake George mine - Review of environmental factors - Addendum (PDF, 25.35 MB)
- Lake George mine - Review of environmental factors - Addendum - Appendix 1 (PDF, 24.83 MB)
- Lake George mine - Review of environmental factors - Addendum - Appendix 2 (PDF, 24.74 MB)
A Pollution Incident Response Management Plan (PIRMP) has been developed for the project and can be viewed here:
To make an environmental complaint report please contact 1300 814 609.
Captains Flat Lead Management Plan Taskforce
The Captains Flat Lead Management Plan Taskforce was established in January 2021 in response to the detection of elevated lead levels in the disused rail corridor adjacent to the former Lake George mine.
View further information on the Captains Flat Lead Management Plan Taskforce
Initial rehabilitation works to reduce pollution were carried out between 1966 and 1968 by the NSW Department of Mines but were only partially successful.
Further, significant works were carried out in 1976, which included stabilising and capping mine waste dumps to prevent erosion and leaching, and to minimise the risk of major collapse. Work also included drainage modifications to Forsters Creek to minimise the inflow of water into the mine.
The 1976 works were primarily to protect and upgrade water quality of the Molonglo River for drinking and agricultural use, and of Lake Burley Griffin.
Since the early 1990s other significant works on various sections of the site have included:
- 1993 – erosion control works
- 2000/01 – contaminated materials removal
- 2002/03 – relocation of waste slag
- 2005/06 – erosion control/structure safety
- 2007/08 – sediment control and de-silting
- 2009/10 – drainage mill/load out site and safety fencing
- 2012 – erosion control at the north face of the south tailings dump
- 2013 – site safety works to rectify subsidence issues
- 2014 – dam maintenance, spillway repair and stabilisation
- 2019 - Safety fencing delivered around Keatings Collapse area, and fence repairs to the north and south tailing dumps
During the mining days, Captains Flat was one of the largest towns in the southern mining region, having a considerable impact on the development and settlement of the area.
Mining operations in Captains Flat were carried out during two periods between 1882-1899 and 1937-1962. The site was closed in 1962 due to the depletion of economic grade ore.
During the second period of operation, more than 4 million tonnes of complex copper-lead-zinc ore was processed to produce approximately 243,000 tonnes of lead, 406,000 tonnes of zinc, 27,000 tonnes of copper, 7.4 million ounces of silver and 220,000 ounces of gold.
All of the workings of the mine were underground, with the lowest levels reached being 619 metres. At this level, drives (horizontal tunnels) were extended a number of times to locate the ore bodies but in 1960, the diamond drilling at the end of the drives failed to locate any ore of economic importance.
While dwarfed in size by the Broken Hill field (which was one of the largest in the world), Lake George Mine at Captains Flat was one of the largest base metal mining fields in NSW, if not Australia. The Mt Isa and Mt Lyell fields were larger but primarily produced copper.
The highly complex mineralogy of the ore body and consequently the varied and changing processing technology was a unique aspect of mining of Captains Flat.