Mine-Field

The Dark Side of Australia's Resources Rush

It is not a case of governments and companies putting royalties and profits before people; instead it is as though people don’t matter at all …

In Mine-Field, Paul Cleary counts the true cost of Australia’s mineral addiction.

Whether it be coal-seam gas, LNG or coal mega-mines, a resources rush is happening in just about every productive corner of our country. Yet at the same time oversight and regulation have been hollowed out. High-risk projects are being approved without proper assessment of the long-term consequences. Water resources, farmland and national parks are under threat, and people, communities and industries are being steamrolled.

A ground-breaking piece of reporting by the author of Too Much Luck, Mine-Field plots the dubious networks created and greased by mining companies to get their projects through, and exposes regulatory gaps that must be addressed to prevent enormous and irreversible harm to our society and environment.

Shortlisted for the 2012 Walkley Book Award, the 2013 Ashurst Business Literature Prize and the 2013 John Button Prize

‘This important book is compelling in its storytelling and chilling in its facts. It storms into the mining debate with a clarion call for more effective regulation. If you read it, you can’t help joining the chorus.’ —Geoff Cousins

‘Mine-Field provides a warts-and-all, no-holds-barred view of Australia’s mining industry. It is a must-read for anyone making an informed judgement on where our nation is going.’ —Tony Windsor

‘Cleary’s sharp and timely reportage should provoke – if not lead – an urgent, informed discussion about the mining industry’s role in our society.’ —Australian Book Review

‘Provocative, polemic and highly readable … a compelling book and I recommend people to read it.’ —Australian Journal of Politics and History

‘Paul Cleary’s take-no-prisoners survey of the resources boom is essential reading.’ —Sydney Morning Herald

‘Compelling, in-the-field reportage … an effective call-to-arms expose.’ —Courier Mail

‘Cleary writes well and argues cogently.’ —Australian

Paul Cleary is a prominent Australian journalist who has documented the politics and economics of resource extraction for more than a decade. He served as an adviser to the government of East Timor on resource-sector governance and negotiations, and has a doctorate from the Australian National University. He is the author of Too Much Luck, Mine-Field and Trillion Dollar Baby.