Jabiluka

Jabiluka is a pair of uranium deposits and mine development in the Northern Territory of Australia that was to have been built on land belonging to the Mirarr clan of Aboriginal people. The mine site is surrounded by, but not part of, the World Heritage–listed Kakadu National Park.[2]

Jabiluka Mine
Jabiluka development site.
Location
Jabiluka is located in Northern Territory
Jabiluka
Jabiluka
Location in Northern Territory
LocationKakadu[1]
TerritoryNorthern Territory
CountryAustralia
Coordinates12°31′50″S 132°54′30″E
Production
ProductsUranium
History
Discovered1971 (Jabiluka 1)
1973 (Jabiluka 2)
Openednever mined
Owner
CompanyEnergy Resources of Australia Limited
Websitehttp://www.energyres.com.au/
Location of key Northern Territory uranium mines

History

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.[3] The Jabiluka deposits were included in the group of uranium deposits that were the subject of the Fox Inquiry. As a result of this inquiry, the Jabiluka mining lease and two others were created along with Kakadu National Park. Feasibility works into the development of the mine were well progressed at the time of the 1983 Australian federal election, which saw the Australian Labor Party take government. Under this government, an export licence for the uranium was unlikely to have been granted and the project development was stopped. Energy Resources of Australia Ltd bought the deposit from Pancontinental and proceeded without background work. Upon the election of the Howard Liberal government in 1996, the project was once again placed into development.

Controversy
Main article: Uranium mining in Kakadu National Park

In 1998 the issue came to a head when Jacqui Katona and Yvonne Margarula, of the Mirarr people, called on activists to come from around Australia and the world to blockade the construction of the mine by Energy Resources of Australia (ERA).[4] Over 500 people were arrested in the course of the eight-month blockade.[5]

ERA developed the surface infrastructure and the decline down to the ore-body to allow for further definition of the resource. Falling uranium prices prevented the project from proceeding. ERA's parent company, North Ltd, was bought by Rio Tinto Group, who announced that the mine will not go ahead – at least until their nearby Ranger uranium mine is mined out.

The Mirarr people agitated for Rio Tinto to clean up the mine site and restore it in keeping with the surrounding National Park. On 12 August 2003 rehabilitation works commenced on the Jabiluka site, 50,000 tonnes of material from the mine were put back down the decline at Jabiluka, filling up 1.2 km of decline.[6]

In 2013, work to remove and remediate the interim water management pond commenced.[7]

According to ERA, between 2005 and 2015 over 16,000 stems of two dozen different species of native plants were planted at the Jabiluka site. Aerial photography shows significant recovery and regeneration.[7]

Documentary films

The 1997 documentary film, Jabiluka, was produced and directed by David Bradbury. Another film on the subject was made by Cathy Henkel, called Walking Through a Minefield. It was released in 1999. In 2006, documentary filmmaker Pip Starr released Fight for Country: the story of the Jabiluka Blockade. Starr spent five years working on the film.[8]

Future development

The Jabiluka Long-Term Care and Maintenance Agreement signed in February 2005 gives the traditional owners veto rights over future development of Jabiluka.[9] However, in 2007, Rio Tinto suggested that the mine could reopen one day.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Place Names Register Extract for "Jabiluka Mine"". NT Place Names Register. Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  2. Uranium Mining in the Northern Territory Archived 10 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  3. McKay, A.D.; Meiitis, Y. (2001), Australia's uranium resources, geology and development of deposits. (PDF), AGSO-Geoscience Australia, Mineral Resources Report 1, ISBN 0-642-46716-1, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2012, retrieved 18 June 2012
  4. Blair, Kirsten (2020). "The Jabiluka Blockade – 22 years on". Commons Social Change Library.
  5. "Finished business: Jabiluka goes to ground - National - www.smh.com.au". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 May 2004. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  6. ERA website – Jabiluka Agreement Archived 22 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 23 March 2009
  7. "Jabiluka - Energy Resources of Australia". www.energyres.com.au. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  8. Australian Centre for the Moving Image. "Fight for Country". Australian Centre for the Moving Image. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  9. "Jabiluka Agreement" (Press release). The Mirarr Kundjeyhmi Aboriginal people, Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) and the Northern Land Council (NLC). 25 February 2005. Archived from the original on 22 April 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  10. "PM - Rio's Jabiluka talk causes anger". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

Further reading
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