An ambitious mining project has been cancelled in by the Queensland Government. This project was supposed to provide employment in the far flung areas of the country. The reason for the cancellation, says Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, is that the Wenlock River was under the Wild River laws.

Indigenous Activist and Community Leader, Noel Pearson, is angry with the recent developments. In a sarcastic article for The Weekend Australian he called Premier Anna Bligh as the "leader of this pig trough that passes for a system of Government". Mr. Pearson also feels that this decision by the Government is insulting for the native people. He further adds that the reason for his anger is his helplessness to do anything regarding the incident.

Cape Alumina had had the most advanced negotiations with the native people. The traditional owners had even signed an employment covenant with the Company. Several mining projects are also under examination on the western side of Cape York.

The land was with Cape Alumina since 2004. It was much before Wild Rivers legislation was introduced. Cape Alumina was also about to enter an environmental impact statement in the next few months as it had plans to mine 132 million tones of bauxite over 15 years.

Cape Alumina Managing Director, Paul Messenger, said that the decision had been made on political rather than scientific grounds. He further added that this decision has considerably increased sovereign risk in Queensland.