Uranium mining in Australia
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Radioactive ores were first extracted in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
at
Radium Hill Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...
in 1906 and Mount Painter in 1911. 2,000 tons of ore were treated to recover
radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rat ...
for medical use. Several hundred kilograms of
uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
were also produced for use in ceramic glazes. In 2019 Australia exported of uranium, 12% of world production, for use in nuclear power generation.
IAEA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...
and the
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...
's NEA reported that the price of uranium in 2019 was $130/kg, and estimated that 35% of the world's uranium
resource Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and wants. Resources can broadly be classified upon thei ...
reserves was in Australia (1,748,100 tonnes out of 4,971,400 tonnes). In terms of production,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
is the largest supplier, followed by Canada and Australia. Following the Japanese
Fukushima nuclear disaster The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 ...
in early 2011, many countries scaled back their nuclear power production, with some setting deadlines for a complete shutdown of all nuclear power reactors, with a resultant impact on demand for uranium. As of 2013 uranium prices have been very low. New mine developments have received State government approval in Western Australia and Queensland, although it is unlikely that new projects will enter active development until the uranium market price improves. For several decades
uranium mining Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50 thousand tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account f ...
has been a major part of the Australian political discussion, with opposition groups citing the wide-ranging environmental impacts,
indigenous land Indigenous land rights are the rights of Indigenous peoples to land and natural resources therein, either individually or collectively, mostly in colonised countries. Land and resource-related rights are of fundamental importance to Indigen ...
access and
nuclear proliferation Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as " Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Wea ...
as reasons for ceasing or restricting the industry. The debate has resulted in limitations on mining and export activities, with Federal and State governments occasionally backflipping on public policy. As of 2017, there were three operational uranium mine sites: Olympic Dam ( BHP),
Ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
(
Energy Resources of Australia Energy Resources of Australia Ltd () is a public company based in Australia. It is a subsidiary of the Rio Tinto Group which as of 2021 owns 86.3% of the company. The remainder is publicly held and traded on the Australian Securities Exchange. T ...
), and Beverley Four Mile (Heathgate Resources).


History

The occurrence of uranium in Australia had been known since the 1890s. Uranium was produced as a bi-product of radium mining in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
at
Radium Hill Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...
from 1906 and Mount Painter from 1911. A refinery at
Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of the lower north shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area ...
,
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
processed the ore between 1911 and 1915 for
radium bromide Radium bromide is the bromide salt of radium, with the formula RaBr2. It is produced during the process of separating radium from uranium ore. This inorganic compound was discovered by Pierre and Marie Curie in 1898, and the discovery sparked a h ...
and uranium. The radium was used for medical research and the uranium used in ceramic and glass manufacture. Serious uranium exploration started in 1944 after requests from the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
governments, and in 1948 tax concessions were offered by the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
for successful discoveries. A£1.8 million uranium treatment complex operated by the
Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...
at
Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South A ...
commenced operations in August 1955, processing ore from Radium Hill and Wild Dog Hill ( Myponga), south of
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
. The complex supplied the
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-
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
Combined Development Agency and closed in February 1962. Uranium deposits were found at Rum Jungle (NT) in 1949 and a mining operation run by the Commonwealth commenced there in 1954. Further discoveries were made at South Alligator River (NT) in 1953, Mary Kathleen (Qld) in 1954, and Westmoreland (Qld) in 1956. In 1954 Radium Hill reopened as a uranium mine and mining operations started at other sites in the late 1950s, including El Sherana, Coronation Hill and Palette. By 1964, production had mostly ended due to depleted reserves and filled contracts. Export sales during this initial phase included 7,730 tonnes of uranium to the US and UK for their nuclear weapons programs. Much of the sales related to the power generation in overseas countries. A second wave of exploration activity in the late 1960s occurred with the development of nuclear energy for electricity production. 60 deposits had been identified up to the late 1970s. The Ranger deposit was discovered in 1969, Nabarlek and Koongarra in 1970, and Jabiluka in 1971. The first of many government inquiries into the industry was tabled in 1976 as the " Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry" (also known as the "Fox Report"), and addressed the question of whether Australia should mine and export uranium. Mining operations ceased while the inquiry was underway but recommenced in 1977 after the government took up a 42% share of Ranger Uranium Mines. In 1979 the Commonwealth sold its share in the still to be built Ranger operation and at the same time established
Energy Resources of Australia Energy Resources of Australia Ltd () is a public company based in Australia. It is a subsidiary of the Rio Tinto Group which as of 2021 owns 86.3% of the company. The remainder is publicly held and traded on the Australian Securities Exchange. T ...
to own and operate the mine. Ranger finally opened for production in 1981. The
Nabarlek Nabarleks (''Petrogale concinna''), are a tiny species of macropod found in northern Australia. They are a shy and nocturnal animal that resides in rocky hollows and forages in the surrounding area. Their diet is grasses, sedges, and ferns fou ...
(NT) mine operated for four months in 1979. Milling of stockpiled ore commenced in 1980 and produced 10,858 tonnes of uranium oxide up to 1988 with sales to
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
,
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, for civil power generation. Mary Kathleen closed in late 1982 becoming the site of Australia's first major uranium mine site rehabilitation project. This was completed in 1985. A similar site rehabilitation project at Rum Jungle also took place in the 1980s. The Olympic Dam mine at Roxby Downs started operations in 1988, operated by
Western Mining Corporation Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
. A large underground mine, it was mainly focussed on
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...
production, with uranium,
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
and
silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
as by-products. Western Mining Corporation was taken over by
BHP Billiton BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
in 2005. Historically, many prospective Australian uranium mines have been constrained by active antinuclear opposition, but state governments have now approved mine development in Western Australia and Queensland. But it is unlikely that any new projects will enter active development until the market improves. As of 2013 uranium prices are very low.
Cameco Cameco Corporation (formerly Canadian Mining and Energy Corporation) is the world's largest publicly traded uranium company, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 2015, it was the world's second largest uranium producer, accounting for 18 ...
placed the
Kintyre Kintyre ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately nor ...
project on hold until market prices improve and Paladin has stated that its project proposals (Bigrlyi, Angela/Pamela, Manyingee, Oobagooma, and Valhalla/Skal) need higher uranium market prices before they can proceed. Toro wants to take the Wiluna proposal to the development phase, but has not been successful in attracting equity investors. When market prices go up again, so that mine development is justified, most projects would need at least five years to proceed to production.


Map


Markets

Generally, there is only one commercial use for uranium: as the source material for
nuclear power generation Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
. In February 2009 there were 436 operational nuclear power plants worldwide, with a total generating capacity of nearly 372 gigawatts of electricity. Another 64 nuclear power reactors are expected to be commissioned over the next six years. There are no nuclear power generation plants operating in Australia and therefore no domestic demand. The
High Flux Australian Reactor The High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR) was Australia's first nuclear reactor. It was built at the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (later ANSTO) Research Establishment at , Sydney. The reactor was in operation between 1958 and 2007, when it ...
at
Lucas Heights, New South Wales Lucas Heights is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is near to the Royal National Park. Geography It is located 31 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government ...
operated from 1958 to 2007. The
OPAL Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline form ...
research reactor is currently in operation at Lucas Heights. Australian uranium is mined and sold only for electrical power generation or
nuclear research Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
, Almost all the uranium is exported under strict
International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 195 ...
safeguards.


Government policy and politics

Uranium mining in Australia has been highly political, particularly for the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
(ALP) at both state and federal level. Development of projects has often been stymied by a succession of inquiries and the politicisation of the issuing of mining and export licences. The biennial ALP National conference in 1982 debated the issue vigorously. At the 1984 Conference, the newly elected federal Labor government under
Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...
introduced the so-called "
Three mine policy The three-mine policy, introduced in 1984 and abandoned in 1996, was a policy of the government of Australia to limit the number of uranium mines in the country to three.
". The policy confined Australian uranium mining activities to the three sites already operational:
Ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
,
Nabarlek Nabarleks (''Petrogale concinna''), are a tiny species of macropod found in northern Australia. They are a shy and nocturnal animal that resides in rocky hollows and forages in the surrounding area. Their diet is grasses, sedges, and ferns fou ...
and Olympic Dam with a moratorium on new mines opening. Subsequently, reserves at Nabarlek were depleted and the
Beverley Uranium Mine The Beverley Mine is Australia's third uranium mine and Australia's first operating in-situ recovery mine. It is located in South Australia in the gazetted locality of Wooltana about 35 km from Lake Frome at the northern end of the Flinder ...
became the notional third mine. The coalition won the 1996 Federal election under
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
and promptly abandoned the policy. On 28 April 2007, the Howard government adopted a new uranium strategy which aimed to immediately remove "unnecessary constraints impeding the expansion of uranium mining, such as overlapping and cumbersome regulations relating to the mining and transport of uranium ore" and repeal prohibitions on further nuclear industrial development which had been established in 1999 under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999. The same day, the Labor party abandoned its "no new mines" policy, while maintaining its opposition to other forms of nuclear industrial development in Australia. After returning to government in 2008, the ALP approved a fourth uranium mine in July 2009: the
Four Mile uranium mine Four Mile is Australia's fifth uranium mine. It is sited in the Frome Basin in far north of the state of South Australia, around north of the state capital, Adelaide. It is from the existing Beverley uranium mine, where its uranium oxide produ ...
in South Australia, thus ending its 25-year-old policy. Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson subsequently declared that increased uranium mining in Australia was inevitable. State governments opposed to uranium mining have been able to stop the issuing of mining permits, sometimes against the policy of the incumbent Federal government. As of December 2015, the current position of the affected states and territories is as follows: *South Australia (ALP): supports mining *Western Australia (Lib/NP coalition): supports mining *Queensland (ALP): opposed to mining * New South Wales (Lib/NP): supports exploration, opposed to mining"Uranium Exploration"
New South Wales Government - Trade & Investment, Australia. Accessed 2014-07-03.
*Northern Territory: under the control of the Commonwealth * Victoria (Lib/NP): opposed to mining"Newman lifts uranium mining ban in Queensland"
''ABC News'', 22 October 2012 (Retrieved 2013-12-12).
* Tasmania (Lib/NP): supports mining


Recent legislative changes

The Western Australian ban on uranium mining was removed in 2008. Queensland's ban on uranium mining was revoked in 2012, when Premier
Campbell Newman Campbell Kevin Thomas Newman (born 12 August 1963) is a former Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of Queensland from 26 March 2012 to 14 February 2015. He served as the member for Ashgrove in the Legislative Assembly of Quee ...
back-flipped on a pre-election promise. In March 2015 the Palaszczuk government announced that it would be reinstating the ban. The New South Wales Government passed the Mining Legislation Amendment (Uranium Exploration) Act 2012 No 16 on 4 April 2012. The Act was proclaimed on 14 September 2012. The Act removed the ban on uranium exploration to help gain an understanding of what uranium and uranium-bearing mineral resources may exist in the State. The ban on uranium mining remains in place.


Opposition

Opposition to uranium mining has been considerable in Australia, and notable anti-uranium activists have included Dr Helen Calidicott,
Kevin Buzzacott Kevin Buzzacott (born 1947), often referred to as Uncle Kev as an Aboriginal elder, is an Indigenous Australian from the Arabunna nation in northern South Australia. He has campaigned widely for cultural recognition, justice and land rights fo ...
,
Jacqui Katona Jacqui Katona is a western-educated Aboriginal Australian woman who led the campaign to stop the Jabiluka uranium mine in the Northern Territory. In 1998 the Mirrar Aboriginal people, together with environmental groups, used peaceful on-site civ ...
,
Yvonne Margarula Yvonne Margarula is an Aboriginal Australian environmentalist who won the 1998 Friends of the Earth International Environment Award and the 1998 Nuclear-Free Future Award. She also won the 1999 US Goldman Environmental Prize, with Jacqui Katona ...
, and
Jillian Marsh Jillian is both a feminine given name and a surname. A spelling variant of Gillian, it originates as a feminine form of the given name Julian, Julio, Julius, and Julien. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Jillian Armenante ( ...
. In November 2011, Prime Minister Julia Gillard called on the ALP to reverse its policy at the ALP national conference, to allow export of Australian uranium to India. India has not signed the
nuclear non-proliferation treaty The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation ...
. While being welcomed at the time by State and Federal governments as a major boost to the economy, the proposed Olympic Dam expansion of mining operations did attract criticism. In 2010, local traditional owners and Indigenous communities protested the proposed expansion. In July 2012, more than 400 people joined a "Lizard's Revenge march" to the Olympic Dam site. The
anti-nuclear The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...
activists, including Elder
Kevin Buzzacott Kevin Buzzacott (born 1947), often referred to as Uncle Kev as an Aboriginal elder, is an Indigenous Australian from the Arabunna nation in northern South Australia. He has campaigned widely for cultural recognition, justice and land rights fo ...
, protested against the mine expansion and the uranium industry. They say the company and the government have put short-term economic gain ahead of environmental and health concerns. Organiser Nectaria Calan said police harassed protesters, demanding identification and controlling access to and from their campsite. In August 2012, BHP Billiton announced that the expansion was being postponed indefinitely pending investigation of a "new and cheaper design". In 2016, BHP Billiton's asset president, Jacqui McGill, announced that the expansion plans would move ahead, "through low-risk, capital efficient underground expansions."


Regulation of uranium mining in Australia


Federal law

Mining or milling uranium ore is defined as a 'nuclear action' in Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, s.22(1)(d). This means that an EPBC Act approval is required for uranium mining from the Federal Environment Minister if a corporation or the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency is to take a nuclear action that has, will have or is likely to have a significant impact on the environment (s.21(1)).


State and Territory laws


NSW

Until 2012, the ''Uranium Mining and Nuclear Facilities (Prohibitions) Act 1986'' (NSW) prohibited uranium mining in NSW. In 2012 the O'Farrell government proposed the repeal of selected provisions of this Act, by means of the Mining Legislation Amendment (Uranium Exploration) Bill 2012, which passed on 28 March 2012, and received Royal Assent on 4 April 2012. The UMNFP Act had made it an offence to prospect for, or to mine, uranium in NSW. (s.7) The 2012 Bill removed the general prohibition on prospecting for uranium in New South Wales. It also enables exploration licences and associated permits (but no other licences or authorities) to be granted under the Mining Act 1992 to prospect for uranium, to apply the State environmental planning policy applicable to other mineral exploration to uranium prospecting, vests all uranium in NSW in the Crown and excludes compensation for that vesting. The UMNFP Act still prohibits State authorities from constructing or operating nuclear reactors for the production of electricity (s.9).


Northern Territory


Queensland

Mining uranium was banned in Queensland from 1989 to 2012. The ban was repealed by the
Newman government Campbell Newman led the Liberal National Party of Queensland to its first victory at the 2012 state election. His interim Ministry of three members was sworn in on 26 March 2012, pending his determination of the make-up of his full Ministry. His ...
, then the Palaszczuk government in 2015 announced that it would be reinstated.


South Australia

''Radiation Protection and Control Act 1982'' (SA) (ss. 5, 27). ''Roxby Downs (Indenture Ratification) Act 1982'' (see: Schedule) On 19 March 2015 the South Australian government established The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission to investigate the expansion of uranium mining and exploration of new uranium deposits in South Australia. On 15 November 2016 the government decided to support all five uranium mining related recommendations made by the commission.


Victoria

''Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Act 1983'' - s.5: Prohibition against exploration etc. for uranium or thorium


Western Australia

*''Uranium (Yeelirrie) Agreement Act 1978'' see alsohttp://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/9997.aspx Before the 2017 State election, former Western Australia's Environment Minister, Albert Jacob, gave approval for the Wiluna Project, owned by Toro Energy, the Yeelirrie Project owned by Cameco and the Mulga Rock Project owned by Vimy Resources. The WA McGowan government was elected in March 2017 and reinstated the ban on uranium mining but allowed these three and the Kintyre Project, owned by Cameco, to proceed.


Mines

About 96% of known resources are at six sites: Olympic Dam (the world's largest known uranium deposit), Ranger, Jabiluka, Koongarra, Kintyre and Yeelirrie. ;Closed/depleted *
Radium Hill Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...
*
Nabarlek Uranium Mine The Nabarlek Mine is a uranium mine in the Northern Territory of Australia which was productively worked only in 1979. The deposit sits within the Alligator Rivers Uranium Field approximately northeast of Jabiru. It was discovered by Queensl ...
* Rum Jungle Mine * Mary Kathleen mine ;Operating * Olympic Dam mine *
Ranger Uranium Mine The Ranger Uranium Mine was a uranium mine in the Northern Territory of Australia. The site is surrounded by, but separate from Kakadu National Park, 230 km east of Darwin. The orebody was discovered in late 1969, and the mine commence ...
*
Beverley Uranium Mine The Beverley Mine is Australia's third uranium mine and Australia's first operating in-situ recovery mine. It is located in South Australia in the gazetted locality of Wooltana about 35 km from Lake Frome at the northern end of the Flinder ...
*
Four Mile uranium mine Four Mile is Australia's fifth uranium mine. It is sited in the Frome Basin in far north of the state of South Australia, around north of the state capital, Adelaide. It is from the existing Beverley uranium mine, where its uranium oxide produ ...
*
Honeymoon Uranium Mine The Honeymoon Mine was Australia's second operating in-situ recovery uranium mine, beginning production in 2011. It is located in South Australia and is northwest of Broken Hill, New South Wales. Honeymoon is a sandstone-hosted paleochannel de ...
;Known deposits/possible future minesites * Mount Gee uranium deposit * Jabiluka uranium deposit *
Kintyre uranium deposit The Kintyre uranium project is located 60 km south of the Telfer gold mine and 260 km northeast of Newman at the western edge of the Great Sandy Desert in the East Pilbara region of Western Australia. History Uranium was discovered ...
* Yeelirrie uranium project


See also

*
Anti-nuclear movement in Australia Nuclear weapons testing, uranium mining and export, and nuclear power have often been the subject of public debate in Australia, and the anti-nuclear movement in Australia has a long history. Its origins date back to the 1972–1973 debate o ...
*
Australian Uranium Association The Australian Uranium Association was an Australian industry trade group which represented companies involved in uranium exploration, mining and export. It operated from September 2006 until 2013, after which its responsibilities were absorbed by ...
* Environmental issues in Australia * ''Fallout and Follow Me'' (1977 play) *
Gavin Mudd Gavin M. Mudd is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Engineering at RMIT University, Australia. He was awarded a Ph.D. in environmental engineering in 2001, from the Victoria University of Technology. Mudd's research int ...
*
List of countries by uranium reserves Uranium reserves are reserves of recoverable uranium, regardless of isotope, based on a set market price. The list given here is based on ''Uranium 2020: Resources, Production and Demand'', a joint report by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and th ...
*
Nuclear industry in South Australia The nuclear industry in South Australia is focused on uranium mining, milling and the export of uranium oxide concentrate for use in the production of nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants. The state is home to the world's largest known single dep ...
*
Nuclear power in Australia The prospect of nuclear power in Australia has been a topic of public debate since the 1950s. Australia has one nuclear plant in Lucas Heights, Sydney, but is not used to produce nuclear power, but instead is used to produce medical radioisoto ...
*
Supervising Scientist The Supervising Scientist is a statutory office under Australian law, originally created to assist in the monitoring of what was then one of the world's largest uranium mines, the Ranger Uranium Mine. It now provides advice more generally on a 'wid ...
*
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation ...
* Uranium mining in Kakadu National Park *
World Uranium Hearing The World Uranium Hearing was held in Salzburg, Austria in September 1992. Anti-nuclear speakers from all continents, including indigenous speakers and scientists, testified to the health and environmental problems of uranium mining and processing ...


References


External links


''Australian atlas of minerals resources, mines & processing centres''''Australia’s uranium resources, geology and development of deposits''
Geoscience Australia Geoscience Australia is an agency of the Australian Government. It carries out geoscientific research. The agency is the government's technical adviser on all aspects of geoscience, and custodian of the geographic and geological data and knowl ...

''Australian Map of Nuclear and Uranium Sites''
{{Uranium mining