Sacred site wrecked by 'plan-less' NT mine A MINING company did not have a plan for managing the ground at a project in the Northern Territory where a sacred site was damaged, a court has heard. The trial of OM (Manganese) Ltd, a subsidiary of OM Holdings Ltd, continued in the Darwin Magistrates Court on Tuesday. On Tuesday Paul Carrick, who worked as mining manager at Bootu Creek for nine months from January 2011, gave evidence. Mr Carrick said mines normally had a ground control management plan, which was a guideline for identifying areas at risk of ground instability. "Basically this site did not have one," Mr Carrick told the court. He said a large rock structure that was part of the sacred site and known as the Horse's Head feature looked vulnerable. "It was quite blatantly quite fragile and brittle," Mr Carrick said. He said in July 2011 he was in his office when a supervisor informed him that the rock feature had fallen off. "It was in many pieces," Mr Carrick told the court. Under questioning from Andrew Collett, acting for the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority, Mr Carrick said he thought that if blasting at part of the mine had been done 50 metres further away from the sacred site there would have been less danger to the rock feature. Asked why blasting had not been carried out 50 metres further away Mr Carrick said that would have prevented a substantial amount of manganese ore from being mined. On Monday the court heard the sacred site had great significance to the Kunapa people and related to a dreaming story about a marsupial rat and a bandicoot that had a fight over bush tucker. As the mythical creatures fought, their blood spilled out, turning the rock the dark red colour that is now associated with manganese. OM (Manganese) has indicated it will plead guilty to a charge of damaging the sacred site, but would defend charges the company desecrated the site. The hearing in Darwin's Magistrates Court continues.