Rodney Island is a small island in

Shelburne Bay The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects a large part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef from damaging activities. It is a vast multiple-use Marine Park which supports a wide range of uses, including commercial marine tourism, fishing, ports an ...

in far north

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

a few hundred metres north of

Cape Grenville Cape Grenville (), is a small, east-facing promontory along the Queensland, Australia coast of Cape York Peninsula. It lies between Shelburne Bay to the north and Temple Bay to the south. The nearest significant settlement is Weipa, along the ...

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...

in the

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects a large part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef from damaging activities. It is a vast multiple-use Marine Park which supports a wide range of uses, including commercial marine tourism, fishing, ports an ...

. It is part of the

Cape York to Cape Grenville Islands Important Bird Area The Cape York to Cape Grenville Islands comprise ten small islands or island groups, with a total land area of just 210 ha, scattered along the Great Barrier Reef on the eastern side of the northern end of the Cape York Peninsula between Ca ...

Mining

The threat of mining to the area became evident in the 1980s when it emerged that the dune fields of Shelburne Bay were being targeted by the

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

sandmining industry. The mining of mining leases 5940 and 5941, the last remaining mining leases in the area, would have involved removing and destroying two major dune systems together with the construction of a major port facility from the eastern end of Shelburne Bay via Rodney Island to the deep water offshore. Public concern at the prospect of sandmining over parts of Shelburne Bay was a key factor in the implementation of the joint state and Commonwealth Cape York Land Use Study. This study, undertaken between 1989 and 1998, was to ensure that appropriate land use decisions on Cape York would be made following wide public consultation and an assessment of competing land uses and values. The Shelburne Bay project was worth $4,000 million a year to the Australian economy. It was to mine 200,000 tonnes a year of pure silicon. At that time the price of pure silicon meant that it was worth $4,000 million to the Australian economy. It is a 99.98 per cent super pure rich deposit.
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References

{{reflist Islands on the Great Barrier Reef

Mining

See also

References