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[Michaelangelica]

Wee beasties flex a bit of muscle

A collection of blind crustaceans and scorpion-like animals has stopped the development of a multi-billion-dollar iron mine in Western Australia. The state's environment agency rejected the project for fear the tiny cave-dwellers would become extinct.

The Mesa A / Warramboo iron ore mining project was proposed by Robe River, part of mining giant Rio Tinto.
But Western Australia's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) rejected the proposal after it unearthed troglobitic animals on the site, near Pannawonica, in the Pilbara region of the state.

The tiny animals are a collection of crustaceans, worms and scorpion-like critters that live entirely in the dark parts of caves. Troglobite is a term used to describe an animal that has adapted to life in total darkness and may have no eyes or pigmentation, using feelers to negotiate their dark habitat.
They cannot survive outside their pitch-dark world because ultraviolet light is lethal to them – even short exposure to sunlight can be fatal.

An EPA report (pdf format) into the project found 11 species of troglobitic animals in the area, some of which were new species and unknown elsewhere. The report's authors said mining would kill off at least five of these species.

Tiny blind critters halt billion-dollar mine - earth - 30 March 2007 - New Scientist Environment