Uranium mining occurred mostly in the southwestern united states and drew many native americans and others into work in the mines and mills. The long and controversial history of uranium mining in. The traditional mirarr owners said the government had indicated they would be given ownership of jabiru, a mining town in kakadu, if they reversed their opposition to mining jabiluka. Fifteen years ago the mirarr were also at the forefront of protest action escalating across australia and around the world in opposition to the plans by energy. Orion magazine uranium mining, native resistance, and the. Kakadu owners call for end to uranium mining youtube. This video which goes for about 6 minutes and published in 20 gives a great overview of kakadu national park. Uranium mining and the threat to kakadu green left. The future of uranium mining in the kakadu national park. The history of uranium mining and the navajo people article pdf available in american journal of public health 929.
Apr 07, 2011 a meeting in darwin has heard from a group of aboriginal traditional owners who say uranium mining is polluting their land in the territorys north. Read the new uranium mining boom challenge and lessons learned by available from rakuten kobo. The promises never last but the problems always do. Peter garret has said he will closely study a proposal to expand the ranger uranium mine in the kakadu national park, reports the sydney. Kakadu is the longtime home to the aboriginal mirrar people, as well as a recent intruder. For several decades uranium mining has been a major part of the australian political landscape, with opposition groups citing the wide ranging environmental impacts, indigenous land access and nuclear proliferation as reasons for ceasing or restricting the industry. Spill of contaminated material at ranger uranium mine. Jun 12, 2015 kakadu national park uranium mining cant last forever, new plan needed, traditional owners say. Home uranium mining in kakadu national park libguides at. As a result of this enquiry, the jabiluka mining lease and two others were created along with kakadu national park. The history of uranium mining and the navajo people. Many environmentalists have said that the new jabiluka mine will be a hole in a donut, and it certainly seems the case.
Uranium mining, waste and indigenous australia overland. Traditional owners predict the end of days for ranger. A uranium mine owned by energy resources of australia. Jabiluka uranium deposit, kakadu, west arnhem region. Despite a long and welldeveloped understanding, based on the european experience earlier in the century, that uranium mining led to high rates of lung cancer, few protections were provided for us miners. Uranium mining, waste and indigenous australia overland literary. To convey a sense of the mirarrs experience of imposed uranium mining, gundjeihmi in partnership with our colleagues at the environment centre nt created dirt cheap 30 years on. Dec 07, 20 the operators of the ranger mine in the northern territory say a spill of uranium and acid has been contained, and there will be no impact to the environment. Is the australian government justified to mine for uranium here.
Jun 12, 2015 the crash in uranium prices in the wake of the 2011 fukushima nuclear disaster in japan has claimed the controversial ranger mine inside the world heritagelisted kakadu national park in the. Nov 28, 2014 the ranger uranium mine in kakadu national park, with its tailing dams almost full after the wet season. Jabiluka uranium deposit, kakadu, west arnhem region, northern territory, australia. Dirt cheap 30 years on includes rare footage of mirarr senior traditional owner toby gangale stating clear opposition to mining on his country and documents his prescient concerns about uranium. Attempts to open uranium mines on indigenous land have invoked debate since the. Rio tinto subsidiary energy resources of australia plans to boost annual uranium production by more than a third by heapleaching lowgrade ore at the countrys biggest uranium mine. It is surrounded by, but separate from kakadu national park, 230 km east of darwin. Pdf the history of uranium mining and the navajo people. Operators of a controversial uranium mine inside kakadu national park. It provides a brief history of the park including the conflicts between uranium mining and conservation, environmental and economic needs as well as various interest groups including local and the indigenous communities living around the park. The ranger uranium mine in kakadu national park, with its tailing dams. Kakadu national park, located in the northern territory of australia, possesses within its boundaries a number of large uranium deposits. A 2006 paper by the australian institute of aboriginal and torres strait islander studies showed that cancer cases doubled among aborigines near australias biggest uranium mine, the ranger mine in kakadu national park.
Senior traditional owner yvonne margarula says that with mining. Nuclear power plants produce routine radioactive emissions in air and water, produce nuclear waste, and create conditions for disasters similar to chernobyl and fukushima. Nov 21, 20 a second safety breach in less than a month from the ranger uranium mine in the northern territory has angered traditional owners of kakadu national park. The jabiluka deposits were included in the group of uranium deposits that were the subject of the fox enquiry. Built right in the center of the mirrar homeland, the ranger uranium mine is one of the largest uranium mines in the world. The ranger uranium mine is a uranium mine in the northern territory of australia. The kakadu charter which helped stop a uranium mine marks 15. Feb 08, 20 mining companies, most recently the french company areva, have been trying to mine the deposit for decades despite the opposition of traditional owners. Although exploration for uranium began in the top end as early as 1944, the first uranium was found in kakadu at coronation hill in 1953 by a geologist from the commonwealth bureau of mineral research. The history of uranium mining in kakadu has been one of broken pipes and broken promises. Primarily, it is about the mining of uranium, and secondarily about its use in bombs and in nuclear power plants, and the security or lack of it surrounding the mineral. Exploration on the site began in the late 1960s with jabiluka 1 being discovered in 1971 and the much larger jabiluka 2 discovered in 1973. The name kakadu was suggested to recognise gagudju, an aboriginal language which used to be spoken in the park.
Nov, 2010 the impact of mining in kakadu national park this report will explain the impact of mining in kakadu national park and what effect it has on such topics as marine life, flora and fauna, tourism, climate and the history of kakadu national park. The jabiluka site is surrounded by the beautiful world heritage kakadu wetlands. It shows how the australian federal government overrode the human rights of kakadu s traditional owners in order to impose a toxic industry in a world. Iaea 2019 upc selected papers 20122015, iaea tecdoc1873. The uranium is legally owned by the australian government, and is sold internationally, having a large effect on the australian economy. Jun 05, 2018 kakadu uranium mine closure planning ignores impact on jabiru township this article is more than 1 year old ranger mine, which ceases operations in 2021, releases plan for rehabilitation, but. Physicians should be concerned about the health effects of the uranium continuum. Records of the social impact of uranium mining project 19781985. Located in the kakadu national park about 230 kilometres east of darwin. The impact of mining in kakadu national park essay 622 words. Aiatsis collections is proud to hold the film story about feeling. Dramatic landscape kakadu has a very unique and dramatic landscape with stunning flood plains, gorges, billabongs, woodlands, rock plateaux, rock escarpments and plummeting waterfalls. Kakadu national park is the only world heritage site in australia that is recognised for both its natural and cultural importance.
The time for mining a problematic and polluting mineral in a. List of inquiries into uranium mining in australia wikipedia. This is a fascinating book about the history of uranium. Uranium mining in kakadu at a crucial point sydney morning herald. She has also recently been anthologised in the collection balancing acts. After an extended struggle and nation wide campaign in support of the traditional owners that involved a coalition of diverse indigenous, environmental and social activists and groups, and included blockades against the mining operations, public actions against the. The orebody was discovered in late 1969, and the mine commenced operation in 1980, reaching full production of uranium oxide in 1981. Uranium mining the gundjeihmi aboriginal corporation. The author has a very engaging style, that keeps one interested all the way through the book. Home uranium mining in kakadu national park libguides.
Aug 05, 2015 but the operator of the ranger mine surrounded by kakadu national park insists it has a future. Because the mine will pollute the surrounding kakadu national park and world heritagelisted area. Impact of uranium mining on aboriginal communities in the northern territory irene wilson. Poisonous radon gas is released during mining and will be breathed in by the workers, and may be scattered over large areas of kakadu by.
History of uranium mining in kakadu ground view of the ranger processing facilities. They are being dragged into meetings two and three times a week, and so they are under enormous pressure on these mining questions. The traditional owners in the kakadu area have been harassed by miming companies for 15 years, and people are being asked to process so many exploration licence applications. Nov 16, 2015 the kakadu charter was refined and signed at a time of great stress for the mirarr people, against a backdrop of concerted company and government pressure for uranium mining at jabiluka. Keri phillips traces the history of uranium mining in australia and ranger s role in it. This paper is an examination of the impact of uranium mining on aboriginal communities in the northern territory. Sustained aboriginal, environmental and wider community opposition and resistance has seen the development of jabiluka halted and the threat of mining at nearby koongarra averted.
The ranger uranium mine in kakadu national park, with its tailing dams almost full after the wet season. Glenn campbell it creates a fitting mood for a place facing an uncertain future. Uranium mining has long caused controversy in the kakadu region. List of all red book editions 19652016 and national reports. Ranger mine ranger uranium mine, kakadu, west arnhem. Urwin is a phd student in the australian national universitys school of history.
Uranium mines harm indigenous people so why have we. Mar 19, 2009 the future of uranium mining in the kakadu national park. Uranium mining is the first step in the generation of both nuclear power and nuclear weapons. Protection of the environment near the ranger uranium mine.
The book presents the results from the uranium mining and hydrogeology conference umh vi held in september 2011, in fr. In the 1970s, kakadus alligator river system became the focal point of europes uranium demands. A new stretch of woodland, called koongarra kunkarra, was recently added to kakadu national park. Koongarra kunkarras key traditional owner, jeffrey lee, fought for more than a decade to prevent mining in his ancestral lands. It is surrounded by, but separate from kakadu national park, 230 km east of. The different messages coming from era and its major shareholder rio tinto, have left the mining. Aborigines win veto on kakadu uranium mining published by mac on 20050225. Overland is a notforprofit magazine with a proud history of. The new uranium mining boom ebook by 9783642221224. Australia has a sorry history of poor or failed mine rehabilitation and. The sea cliffs forming the shoreline are now the dramatic escarpment wall that can be seen at gunlom, jim jim, and twin falls and from the gunwardewarde lookout at nourlangie. Despite a long and welldeveloped understanding, based on the european experience earlier in the century, that uranium mining led to high rates of lung cancer, few protections were provided for us miners before 1962 and their adoption after that time was slow and incomplete. Ranger mine ranger uranium mine, kakadu, west arnhem region, northern territory, australia. Kakadu uranium mine closure planning ignores impact on jabiru.
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