Interview: a poem
The local newspaper addresses
a series of questions to Chalice
about NOA (naturally occurring
asbestos) in ‘their’ Gonneville
Deposit (the roots of Julimar
Forest and environs). Answers
fire back without definition,
talking of ‘fibrous materials’
and management per ‘industry
best practice'. You can see
where this is going, catch
its drift, and suffer over time
accordingly. Tracy’s father
had asbestosis when he
passed away. Our lives have
been haunted by asbestos
contamination. And now
the miners talk of spraying
water and having barriers
and air quality testing
as they disturb the spirit
of earth. They talk of such
things being 'typically seen'
at nickel mines in WA.
The local newspaper’s
questions seek to pin
the miner down, and though
each answer is evasive,
they confirm as well. ‘Local’
is disposable once profits
and ore are dispersed
around the globe. When
litigation comes decades
later, dynasties will have
risen and fallen and every
battery will have lost its spark.
John Kinsella
