The extraction of mineral deposits in ecologically sensitive landscapes can lead to conflicts between mining and conservation interests (Tibbett 2015). Determining any effect of mining operations and how far these impacts spread from a mine site are therefore important issues in assessing the likely ecological impacts of proposed developments. Matsuki et al. (2016) examined the effects of mine-generated dust on plants at two sites in semi-arid Australia: Barrow Island and Windarling Range. They concluded that there was no evidence that dust accumulation on plants caused negative impacts, such as increased mortality. For the Windarling study, however, there are shortcomings in the methods on which this conclusion is based. Indeed, there are data available that clearly show the opposite conclusion: that mine-generated dust at Windarling Range resulted in a substantially higher mortality rate of the threatened perennial shrub Tetratheca paynterae subsp. paynterae (Elaeocarpaceae) between 2004 and 2005.
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