Blayney:An Australian court has overturned a government order that protected an Aboriginal heritage site, which had halted a billion-dollar gold mining project in New South Wales. The Federal Court determined that the decision to stop the project was legally invalid.

According to Anadolu Agency, the court ruled in favor of the mining company Regis Resources, which had contested a 2024 protection order. This order covered 400 hectares of the McPhillamys Gold Project near Blayney and was reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

The protection order, issued by then-Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, had been intended to prevent the construction of a tailings dam for mining waste storage, a development that the company argued made the project financially unviable.

Justice James Stellios found that procedural requirements were not met when reviewing an application for Aboriginal heritage protection in an area significant to the Wiradyuri people.

The application, originally submitted in 2020 by Wiradyuri elder Aunty Nyree Reynolds, aimed to protect a site associated with the Blue Banded Bee Dreaming story. Stellios emphasized that the ruling was based on procedural issues and did not assess the heritage claims' merits.

The decision now returns to Environment Minister Murray Watt for further consideration. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that the government is reviewing the judgment, while Watt committed to ongoing discussions with Indigenous communities and industry stakeholders.

Regis Resources expressed approval of the ruling, viewing it as an important step towards advancing one of Australia's largest undeveloped gold projects.