Uranium mining in Australia
Encyclopedia
Radium Hill
Radium Hill is a former minesite in South Australia which operated from 1906 until 1961. It was Australia's first uranium mine, years before the country's next major mines at Rum Jungle in the Northern Territory , and the Mary Kathleen mine in Queensland...
in 1906, and Mount Painter in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
in the 1930s, to recover radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
for medical use. Several hundred kilograms of uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
were also produced.
Of the world's proven estimated uranium reserves (5,469,000 tonnes), 23% are held in Australia (1,243,000 tonnes), ahead of Kazakhstan (15% or 817,000 tonnes). Other major world reserves are held in the Russian Federation, South Africa, Canada, USA
Uranium mining in the United States
Uranium mining in the United States is the extraction of uranium-bearing ore from the earth. While uranium is used primarily for nuclear power, uranium mining had its roots in the production of uranium-bearing ore in 1898 with the mining of carnotite-bearing sandstones of the Colorado Plateau in...
, Brazil and Namibia (37% combined).
In terms of production, Canada is the largest supplier to export markets, followed by Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
and Australia. Australia exported 50,235 tonnes of uranium oxide
Uranium oxide
Uranium oxide is an oxide of the element uranium.The metal uranium forms several oxides:* Uranium dioxide or uranium oxide * Uranium trioxide or uranium oxide...
concentrate in the five years to 2008, worth A$2.9 billion.
At present day values, proven Australian reserves are valued at more than $300 billion. According to the World Nuclear Association
World Nuclear Association
The World Nuclear Association , formerly the Uranium Institute, is an international organization that promotes nuclear power and supports the many companies that comprise the global nuclear industry...
this will increase as uranium ore prices rise on increasing demand, with more countries turning to nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
generation as a means of dealing with global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
and declining stocks of fossil fuels, and as exploration discovers new reserves: 2009 ABARE
Abaré
Abaré is a town and municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil.-References:...
forecasts predict a 38% increase in export volumes and an 86% increase in export revenues by 2014. However, following the Fukushima meltdown in early 2011, many countries are planning to scale back their nuclear power production, with some setting deadlines for a complete shutdown of all nuclear power reactors. It is expected that this may impact on demand for Australian Uranium.
For several decades uranium mining
Uranium mining
Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. The worldwide production of uranium in 2009 amounted to 50,572 tonnes, of which 27% was mined in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia are the top three producers and together account for 63% of world uranium...
has been a major part of the Australian political landscape
Politics of Australia
The Politics of Australia take place within the framework of a parliamentary democracy, with electoral procedures appropriate to a two-party system. Australia is governed as a federation and as a constitutional monarchy, with an adversarial legislature based upon the Westminster system...
, with opposition groups citing the wide ranging environmental impacts, indigenous land access and nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
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 flip-flopping on public policy. In the meantime, mining companies have pursued exploration activities, and in some instances stockpiled mined ore, with an expectation that the eventual removal of restrictions and uncertainties will occur due to the scale of economic benefits on offer.
History
The presence of a uranium resource in Australia had been known since the 1890s. Uranium was mined at Radium HillRadium Hill
Radium Hill is a former minesite in South Australia which operated from 1906 until 1961. It was Australia's first uranium mine, years before the country's next major mines at Rum Jungle in the Northern Territory , and the Mary Kathleen mine in Queensland...
in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
from 1906 and a refinery at Hunter's Hill
Hunter's Hill, New South Wales
Hunters Hill is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located 9 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Hunter's Hill.Hunters Hill is situated on a...
near Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
processed the Radium Hill ore between 1911 and 1915 for radium bromide
Radium bromide
Radium bromide is the bromide salt of radium, with the formula RaBr2. It is produced during the separation of radium from uranium ore. This inorganic compound was discovered by Pierre and Marie Curie in 1898, which sparked a huge interest in radiochemistry, especially radiotherapy...
and uranium. Radium was used for medical research and also mined at Mount Painter (adjacent to Mount Gee
Mount Gee
Mount Gee is located in the northern Flinders Ranges within the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, and is part of the Mount Painter inlier. It was named after a mining warden, Lionel Gee....
) in South Australia. Serious uranium exploration started in 1944 after requests from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
governments and in 1948 tax concessions were offered by the Commonwealth for successful discoveries.
Uranium deposits were found at Rum Jungle
Rum Jungle, Northern Territory
The Rum Jungle uranium deposit in the Northern Territory, Australia was found in 1949. It is 65 kilometres south of Darwin on the East Finniss River.-Original uranium mine:...
(NT) in the following year, 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
Mary Kathleen, Queensland
Mary Kathleen was a mining settlement in the northwestern part of Queensland, Australia. It is located in the Selwyn Range between Mount Isa and Cloncurry.Mary Kathleen was first settled during the 1860s.-Uranium mine:...
(Qld) in 1954, and Westmoreland (Qld) in 1956. In 1954 Radium Hill reopened as a uranium mine and mining operations started at several other sites in the late 1950s.
The Port Pirie Uranium Treatment Complex commenced operations in August 1955, processing ore from Radium Hill and Wild Dog Hill (Myponga), south of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. The £1,800,000 complex was operated by the Government of South Australia
Government of South Australia
The form of the Government of South Australia is prescribed in its constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
to supply the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Combined Development Agency
Combined Development Agency
The Combined Development Agency was a defense purchasing authority established in 1948 by the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom...
. The complex closed in February 1962.
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 USA and UK for their nuclear weapons programs. Other 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 enquiries 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 enquiry was underway but recommenced in 1977 after the government took up a 42% share of Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd. 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 Ltd to own and operate the mine. Ranger finally opened for production in 1981.
The Nabarlek
Nabarlek Uranium Mine
The Nabarlek Mine is a past producing uranium mine in the Northern Territory of Australia. The deposit sits within the Alligator Rivers Uranium Field approximately northeast of Jabiru. It was discovered by Queensland Mines Limited in 1970 by following up an intense airborne radiometric...
(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
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, 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.
Olympic Dam
Olympic Dam, South Australia
Olympic Dam is a mining centre in South Australia located some 550 km NNW of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is the site of an extremely large iron oxide copper gold deposit producing copper, uranium, gold and silver. The site hosts an underground mine as well as an...
(SA) at Roxby Downs started operations in 1988, operated by Western Mining Corporation. A large underground mine, it was mainly focussed on copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
production, with uranium, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
as by-products. Western Mining Corp was taken over by BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
in 2005.
Since 2002 there has been a new surge in exploration, driven mainly by small companies focused on proving known deposits.
Map
Markets
Generally, there is only one commercial use for uranium: as the source material for nuclear power generation. 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
Nuclear power in Australia
Nuclear power in Australia is a heavily debated concept. Australia currently has no nuclear facilities generatingelectricity, however, Australia has 23% of the world's uranium deposits and is the world's second largest producer of uranium after Kazakhstan...
and therefore no domestic demand. The High Flux Australian Reactor at Lucas Heights, New South Wales
Lucas Heights, New South Wales
Lucas Heights is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lucas Heights is located 31 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire....
operated from 1958 to 2007.
Australian uranium is mined and sold only for electrical power generation and nuclear research, and only to selected countries within those that are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
. Almost all the uranium is exported under strict International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
safeguards.
Government policy and politics
Uranium mining in Australia has been highly political, particularly for the Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
(ALP) at both state and federal level. Development of projects has often been stymied by a succession of enquiries and the politicisation of the issuing of mining and export licenses.
The biennial ALP National conference in 1982 debated the issue vigorously. At the 1984 Conference, the newly elected federal Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government under Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
introduced the so-called "Three mine policy
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.-History:...
". The policy confined Australian uranium mining activities to the three sites already operational: Ranger
Ranger Uranium Mine
The Ranger uranium mine is surrounded by Kakadu National Park, in the Northern Territory of Australia, 230 km east of Darwin. The orebody was discovered in 1969, and the mine commenced operation in 1980, reaching full production of uranium oxide in 1981...
, Nabarlek
Nabarlek Uranium Mine
The Nabarlek Mine is a past producing uranium mine in the Northern Territory of Australia. The deposit sits within the Alligator Rivers Uranium Field approximately northeast of Jabiru. It was discovered by Queensland Mines Limited in 1970 by following up an intense airborne radiometric...
and Olympic Dam
Olympic Dam, South Australia
Olympic Dam is a mining centre in South Australia located some 550 km NNW of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is the site of an extremely large iron oxide copper gold deposit producing copper, uranium, gold and silver. The site hosts an underground mine as well as an...
with a moratorium on new mines opening. Subsequently reserves at Nabarlek were depleted and Beverley Uranium Mine
Beverley Uranium Mine
The Beverley Mine is Australia's third uranium mine and Australia's first operating in-situ recovery mine. It is located 35 km from Lake Frome at the northern end of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia and opened in 2001...
became the notional third mine.
The coalition won the 1996 Federal election under John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
and promptly abandoned the policy.
After returning to government in 2008, the ALP approved a fourth uranium mine in July 2009: the Four Mile uranium mine
Four Mile uranium mine
Four Mile is a proposed uranium mine in Australia. The proposed mine is sited in the far north of the state of South Australia, around north of the state capital, Adelaide and from the existing Beverley uranium mine....
in South Australia, thus ending its 25 year old policy. Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson
Martin Ferguson
Martin John Ferguson AM , Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1996, representing the Division of Batman, Victoria. He was born in Sydney, the son of Jack Ferguson, who was Deputy Premier of New South Wales from 1976...
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. The current position of the affected states is as follows:
- South Australia (ALP): supports mining
- Western Australia (Lib/NP coalition): supports mining
- Queensland (ALP): opposed to mining
- Northern Territory: under the control of the Commonwealth
The Western Australian ban on uranium mining was removed in 2008.
Opposition to uranium mining has been considerable in Australia, and notable anti-uranium activists have included Kevin Buzzacott
Kevin Buzzacott
Kevin Buzzacott , often referred to as Uncle Kev as an Aboriginal elder, is an Indigenous Australian from the Arabunna nation in northern South Australia...
, Jacqui Katona
Jacqui Katona
Jacqui Katona is a western-educated Aboriginal 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 civil disobedience to create one of the largest blockades in...
, Yvonne Margarula
Yvonne Margarula
Yvonne Margarula won the 1998 Friends of the Earth International Environment Award and the 1998 Nuclear-Free Future Award. She also won the 1999 U.S...
, and Jillian Marsh
Jillian Marsh
Jillian Marsh was raised in the coal-mining town of Leigh Creek, in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, and she has had a long interest in mining issues and indigenous communities. In 1998 Marsh received the prestigious Jill Hudson Environmental Award for her work in educating people living near the...
.
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
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
.
Mines
About 96% of known deposits are at six sites: Olympic Dam (the world's largest known uranium deposit), Ranger, Jabiluka, Koongarra, Kintyre and Yeelirrie.Closed/depleted
- Radium HillRadium HillRadium Hill is a former minesite in South Australia which operated from 1906 until 1961. It was Australia's first uranium mine, years before the country's next major mines at Rum Jungle in the Northern Territory , and the Mary Kathleen mine in Queensland...
- Nabarlek Uranium MineNabarlek Uranium MineThe Nabarlek Mine is a past producing uranium mine in the Northern Territory of Australia. The deposit sits within the Alligator Rivers Uranium Field approximately northeast of Jabiru. It was discovered by Queensland Mines Limited in 1970 by following up an intense airborne radiometric...
- Rum Jungle MineRum Jungle, Northern TerritoryThe Rum Jungle uranium deposit in the Northern Territory, Australia was found in 1949. It is 65 kilometres south of Darwin on the East Finniss River.-Original uranium mine:...
- Mary Kathleen mineMary Kathleen, QueenslandMary Kathleen was a mining settlement in the northwestern part of Queensland, Australia. It is located in the Selwyn Range between Mount Isa and Cloncurry.Mary Kathleen was first settled during the 1860s.-Uranium mine:...
Operating
- Olympic Dam mineOlympic Dam, South AustraliaOlympic Dam is a mining centre in South Australia located some 550 km NNW of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is the site of an extremely large iron oxide copper gold deposit producing copper, uranium, gold and silver. The site hosts an underground mine as well as an...
- Ranger Uranium MineRanger Uranium MineThe Ranger uranium mine is surrounded by Kakadu National Park, in the Northern Territory of Australia, 230 km east of Darwin. The orebody was discovered in 1969, and the mine commenced operation in 1980, reaching full production of uranium oxide in 1981...
- Beverley Uranium MineBeverley Uranium MineThe Beverley Mine is Australia's third uranium mine and Australia's first operating in-situ recovery mine. It is located 35 km from Lake Frome at the northern end of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia and opened in 2001...
Known deposits/possible future minesites
- Four Mile uranium mineFour Mile uranium mineFour Mile is a proposed uranium mine in Australia. The proposed mine is sited in the far north of the state of South Australia, around north of the state capital, Adelaide and from the existing Beverley uranium mine....
(Approved for development) - Honeymoon Uranium MineHoneymoon Uranium MineThe Honeymoon Mine will be Australia's fourth uranium mine and Australia's second operating in-situ recovery mine. The mine is owned by Uranium One. The uranium deposit belongs to the palaeochannel type.-See also:* Uranium mining in Australia...
(Approved for development) - Mount Gee uranium depositMount GeeMount Gee is located in the northern Flinders Ranges within the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, and is part of the Mount Painter inlier. It was named after a mining warden, Lionel Gee....
- Jabiluka uranium depositJabilukaJabiluka is a uranium deposit and mine development in the Northern Territory of Australia that was to have been built on land belonging to the Mirarr Aboriginal people...
- Kintyre uranium depositKintyre uranium depositThe 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:...
- Yeelirrie uranium projectYeelirrie uranium projectThe Yeelirrie uranium project is a proposed uranium mining project, located approximately 70 km south west of Wiluna, in the Mid West region of Western Australia....
- Angela uranium deposit
See also
- Anti-nuclear movement in AustraliaAnti-nuclear movement in AustraliaNuclear testing, uranium mining and export, and nuclear energy have often been the subject of public debate in Australia, and the anti-nuclear movement in Australia has a long history...
- Australian Uranium AssociationAustralian Uranium AssociationThe Australian Uranium Association is an Australian industry trade group representing companies involved in uranium exploration, mining and export....
- Environmental issues in AustraliaEnvironmental issues in AustraliaEnvironmental issues in Australia describes a number of environmental issues which affect the environment of Australia. There are a range of such issues, some of them relating to conservation in Australia while others, for example the deteriorating state of Murray-Darling Basin, have a direct and...
- Nuclear power in AustraliaNuclear power in AustraliaNuclear power in Australia is a heavily debated concept. Australia currently has no nuclear facilities generatingelectricity, however, Australia has 23% of the world's uranium deposits and is the world's second largest producer of uranium after Kazakhstan...
- Supervising ScientistSupervising ScientistThe 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...
- Uranium mining in Kakadu National Park