Uranium mining in Australia:

Above - Open cut mining for uranium.

Australia is rich in this energy-producing mineral and it is believed that some 30 per cent of the world’s uranium deposits are located here. Uranium has been mined here since the 1930s. By February 2006, we had become a major uranium exporter, producing about 22 per cent of the world’s uranium. Three uranium mines are operating in Australia – Ranger (Northern Territory), Olympic Dam (South Australia) and Beverley (South Australia).

Among the world’s uranium-exporting countries, Australia and Canada have some of the strictest conditions relating to the use of their uranium. These safeguards (inspections and accounting procedures) ensure that exported uranium is used for peaceful purposes only and is not diverted for military purposes or used in a way which adds to the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Government legislation in Victoria and New South Wales has restricted the further development of nuclear energy in these two states. In Victoria, the Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Act 1983 prohibits the construction or operation of any nuclear reactor, and further amendments to other Victorian Acts have reinforced this policy. The New South Wales Government passed similar legislation, the Uranium Mining and Nuclear Facilities (Prohibitions) Act 1986.

The Western Australian Government banned uranium mining in 2002. Western Australia has one uranium reserve in the northern goldfields and a second uranium deposit is located at Kintore in the far east Pilbara.

For more information about uranium mining in Australia, go to:
http://www.uic.com.au/emine.htm

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