Rio Tinto investigates chemical leak

Rio Tinto is investigating reports of a leak from one of the wastewater dams at its Alcan Gove bauxite mine and aluminium refinery in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The company says it is looking into an incident in which a man complained of a burning sensation on his skin after coming into contact with groundwater. The company says it happened somewhere on the mine site in the middle of March. But it did not start investigating until contacted by the ABC yesterday about reports of a leak from a waste water dam and a red plume streaming into Melville Bay. The company says an inspection of the area was carried out yesterday and water samples were taken. Rio Tinto says the tests did not find chemical levels above what it is allowed to discharge under its licence but it is continuing to investigate the matter.