"Cadia goldmine faces Supreme Court class action over contamination claims", 3 February 2026

Landowners living near one of the world's biggest goldmines in central west NSW have launched an environmental class action alleging contamination of more than 2,000 properties.

Lawyers for the claimants allege arsenic, heavy metals and forever chemicals known as PFAS have travelled from Newmont's Cadia goldmine onto properties in a 17-kilometre radius.

"This case follows … three years of investigation by the community, [looking] at the impact upon their properties from the dust and water pollution, " principal lawyer Oliver Gayner said.

Mr Gayner said the community felt it had "no choice" other than to litigate.

"They've communicated those science-based results to the mine operator and sought a collaborative process to try and resolve the pollution issues, but those requests have been refused," he said.

Community members are seeking compensation from the mining giant, saying the pollution has damaged their property values through a "toxic trifecta" of air, surface and groundwater pollution.

They are also seeking an injunction to restrain further pollution from the Cadia site, which has a production rate of more than 30 million tonnes of ore a year.

"Success for us is not about money, it will be measured by the change in operations at Cadia," Mr Gayner said.

In a statement, Newmont Cadia confirmed it had been served with proceedings in the Supreme Court of NSW and would "respond through the appropriate legal processes".

"As the matter is before court, it is not appropriate to comment further at this time," the statement read…

Future implications

The class action is being bankrolled by UK litigation fund Aristata, whose executives travelled from London to visit allegedly affected farms last year.

…, Newmont pleaded guilty in the Land and Environment Court to three counts of air pollution and was fined $350,000.

Two additional charges were dropped in exchange for the mine installing five new dust monitors in 2024.

That same year, farmers on the mine's southern border reported slabs of white foam appearing on the Belubula River, an important source of irrigation for the region…