AUSTRALIA: The government has rejected a major...

AUSTRALIA: The government has rejected a major mining project because Aborigines said it would waken an underground god and lead to mass destruction. “There is no doubt Aborigines believe that to allow mining at Coronation Hill would be a desecration of their beliefs,” said Prime Minister Bob Hawke, announcing the ban on mining for gold, platinum and palladium at the site in the remote Northern Territory. Hawke spoke after meeting more than five hours with 17 Cabinet ministers, many of whom favored the project. The decision pleased the 600-member Jawoyn tribe, who say mining would have disturbed the god Bula in what they call the Sickness Country. But it angered the mining industry. “This decision is a low-water mark in the government’s attitude toward investment and economic recovery in Australia,” said John Quinn, managing director of Newcrest Mining Ltd., which sought to mine the 18-square-mile area along with Plutonic Resources Ltd. and North Broken Hill Peko Ltd.