A rural community group has launched a class action alleging Newmont Mining's Cadia operation, near Orange in NSW, has exposed neighbours to a "toxic trifecta" of air, land and water pollution.
Photographs of dusty clouds above the mine, taken from nearby properties between 2019 and 2023, have been included in the group's statement of claim published online on Thursday.
The class action brought by the Cadia Community Sustainability Network alleges the material in the air is mine dust, which increased after Cadia's tailings dam wall collapsed in early 2018.
The dust contains silica and heavy metals and can travel at least 17km from the centre of the mine, according to the statement of claim before the NSW Supreme Court.
Other images in the claim, filed in February, show white foam, oil slicks and orange water on the nearby Belubula River and Flyers Creek in 2024.
The material in the water is "mine fluids", with water testing revealing the presence of PFAS and heavy metals, the document said.
The group's claim said contamination also includes rainwater tanks, dams, ponds, bore and stock water on private properties, making the area hazardous to human and animal health.Â
The residents are seeking aggravated damages and an injunction to stop further pollution, alleging the mine "knowingly and recklessly" exposed them to mine dust and fluids.
Cadia has not yet filed its defence.
A statement from Newmont in February said the company would not comment on specifics as the case was before court.
"Newmont takes its legal and regulatory obligations seriously and is committed to environmental stewardship," the statement said.
A 2025 NSW Health investigation found no definitive evidence of health impacts from heavy metal exposure, while recent long-term monitoring has found air quality was "good to fair" and within acceptable limit.
But in 2025, the NSW Land and Environment Court ordered Cadia Holdings to pay more than $400,000 in fines for three dust emissions offences between late-2021 and mid-2023.
The state's Environment Protection Authority entered into an enforceable undertaking with the company in December, requiring it to pay more than $300,000 for equipment to support the government's rural dust monitoring network.
It also had to pay $25,000 for the authority's investigative and legal costs over two dust emissions incidents in 2022, after a separate prosecution was discontinued.
The class action is listed for a case management hearing in July.
