The NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) has been told a public school should be moved if a proposed silver and lead mine is approved, amid fears it could poison children.
The IPC heard three days of evidence this week in Mudgee as it reassessed a proposal to extract 30 million tonnes of silver, lead and zinc over 23 years near the small town of Lue.
University of Queensland professor and principal research fellow at the Sustainable Minerals Institute Barry Noller told the hearing the project's potential for lead exposure posed an unacceptable risk to children at Lue Public School, about two kilometres from the mine site.
"I recommend that the Lue school, being at the boundary of dust deposition of [the] Bowdens mining project, be moved," Professor Noller said. "The management plan would be underestimating the true quantity of deposited lead that is relevant in terms of assessing the risk to adults and particularly children."
The project has divided the community. Almost 100 people spoke at the hearing, with the majority opposed to the mine and only a few non-employees speaking in support. On Wednesday, farmers rode tractors and utes from Lue into Mudgee as part of a protest action.
Proponent Silver Mines Limited's managing director Jo Battershill implored the panel to approve the development.
"The project would provide investment and economic diversification for the mid-western region," he said.
Mr Battershill told the IPC that while the concern was understandable, the project had undergone extensive independent review. "Predicted health risks from the project, including from lead, are very low," he said.