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December 29th, 2011 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Road trains are again rumbling along the Stuart Highway after floodwaters cut the road north of Katherine, but a freight train mishap continues to dampen the Top End’s festive spirit.
An NT infrastructure department spokeswoman said the road linking the Top End to southern Australia was to reopen at 6pm (CST) on Thursday to all traffic, including heavy traffic and road trains.
Floodwaters from the Edith River, north of Katherine, cut off the highway and washed a freight train off the rails on Tuesday.
Following the train derailment, miner OZ Minerals said in a statement on Thursday that around 1,000 to 1,200 tonnes of its copper concentrate may have spilled into the Edith River as a result of the mishap.
The train, which had 1,500 tonnes of the toxic substance onboard, was travelling from the company’s Prominent Hill copper mine in South Australia.
Several investigations are under way into the cause of the derailment and the environmental impact of the toxic spillage.
OZ Minerals was unavailable for comment.
Community based watchdog, the National Toxics Network (NTN) said the spill was potentially a serious threat to the waterway and human health.
“Copper concentrate is both toxic and dangerous,” NTN adviser Mariann Lloyd-Smith told AAP.
“It’s a problem for inhalation, in terms of dust. It’s a problem for skin contact, but most worrying is what it does to the waterways”.
Stuart Blanch, director of the Northern Territory Environment Centre, said investigations needed to establish why the freight train was allowed to cross the river while it was flooded.
The Alice Springs to Darwin Railway is owned by Genesee and Wyoming Australia.
“I find it incredible that their risk management processes were so lax to allow a fully laden train to drive into a flooded river,” Mr Blanch told AAP.
The company has said it tested the track before the freight train crossed the bridge.
The federal government on Thursday said it would provide financial assistance to repair bridges and roads damaged by Tropical Cyclone Grant and help affected communities get back on their feet.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Robert McClelland and Northern Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson said assistance would be provided through the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA).
NDRRA is jointly funded by the commonwealth and the states.
Meanwhile, more wild weather could be on the way for other areas of the Top End.
The Bureau of Meteorology says ex-tropical cyclone Grant is heading east and could redevelop into a tropical cyclone on Friday, causing heavy rain and flooding across some parts of far north Queensland.
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