Radioactive ores were first extracted inSouth Australia atRadium Hill in 1906 andMount Painter in 1911. 2,000 tons of ore were treated to recoverradium for medical use. Several hundred kilograms ofuranium were also produced for use in ceramic glazes.[1][2]
In 2019 Australia exported 6,613 tonnes (15 million pounds) of uranium, 12% of world production, for use in nuclear power generation.[3]IAEA and theOECD's NEA reported that the price of uranium in 2019 was $130/kg, and estimated that 35% of the world's uraniumresource reserves was in Australia (1,748,100 tonnes out of 4,971,400 tonnes).[4][5] In terms of production,Kazakhstan is the largest supplier, followed by Canada and Australia.[6][7]
Following the JapaneseFukushima nuclear disaster 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 decadesuranium mining has been a major part of theAustralian political discussion, with opposition groups citing the wide-ranging environmental impacts,indigenous land access andnuclear proliferation as reasons for ceasing or restricting the industry. The debate has resulted in limitations on mining and export activities, with Federal and State governments occasionallybackflipping on public policy.
As of 2017, there were three operational uranium mine sites:Olympic Dam (BHP),Ranger (Energy Resources of Australia), andBeverley Four Mile (Heathgate Resources).[8]
The occurrence of uranium in Australia had been known since 1890 inSouth Australia, six years before the discovery of its radioactivity, which generated great interest in the mineral.[9]
Uranium was produced as a by-product of radium mining in South Australia after Arthur J. Smith made a claim in March 1906 at a spot 460 km (290 mi) northeastAdelaide and 110 km (68 mi) southwest ofBroken Hill, New South Wales. It was first known as Smith's Carnotite Mine and laterRadium Hill.[10]
Radium ore was also produced at Mount Painter (Radium Ridge), South Australia, after a find by G.A. Greenwood and identification byDouglas Mawson in 1910.[11][12] This led to extraction ofradium by theRadium Extraction Company of South Australia Ltd, which opened several other deposits during the following two years. The largest of these was the No. 6 workings near Mt Painter,[11] which was opened in 1911.[13] Ore was shipped to Europe until the advent of World War I in 1914, and the company went into liquidation in 1917. Mawson had some uranium from the region shipped toMarie Curie, who was then involved in radioactivity research in France.[11]
Both the Mount Painter and Radium Hill deposits were mined intermittently for medical use until the early 1930s, when mining ceased. Interest in uranium itself only increased after the discovery ofnuclear fission in 1939.[11]
A refinery atHunters Hill, New South Wales, processed the ore between 1911 and 1915 forradium bromide and uranium. The radium was used for medical research and the uranium used in ceramic and glass manufacture.[14]
In 1944 exploration resumed at both Mount Painter (at the new East Painter Camp), Radium Hill, and other sites, for potential use in allied nuclear weapons projects[11] after requests from the United States and United Kingdom governments. In 1948 tax concessions were offered by theCommonwealth for successful discoveries. A £1.8 million uranium treatment complex operated by theGovernment of South Australia atPort Pirie commenced operations in August 1955, processing ore from Radium Hill and Wild Dog Hill (Myponga), south of Adelaide. The complex supplied the UK-USCombined Development Agency and closed in February 1962.[15][16]
The East Painter Camp closed in 1950.[11] Uranium deposits were found atRum Jungle (NT) in 1949 and a mining operation run by theCommonwealth government commenced there in 1954. Further discoveries were made atSouth 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, includingEl Sherana,Coronation Hill, and Palette.[17]
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.[18]
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, andJabiluka in 1971.[citation needed]
Between 1968 and 1971, a consortium of mining companies discovered further uranium deposits at Mount Painter, including the Hodgkinson Project.[11]
Australia was part of the 1972-1976 uranium producerscartel, Societe d'Etudes de Recherches d'Uranium.[19]: 194 The other cartel members were France, South Africa, and Anglo-Australian transnationalRio Tinto Zinc Ltd.[19]: 194 It was formed by the major non-US uranium producers to mitigate the impacts of US policy on the uranium market; to do so, the cartel engaged inbid rigging,price fixing, andmarket sharing.[19]: 194 Westinghouse filed anantitrust lawsuit against cartel members in 1976 and the cartel disbanded.[19]: 194
The first ofmany 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.[20] Mining operations ceased while the inquiry was underway but recommenced in 1977 after the government took up a 42% share of Ranger Uranium Mines.[2] In 1979 the Commonwealth sold its share in the still to be built Ranger operation and at the same time establishedEnergy Resources of Australia to own and operate the mine. Ranger finally opened for production in 1981. The mine continued to operate until January 2021 and is now marked for remediation.[21]
TheNabarlek (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, Finland, and France, for civil power generation.[citation needed]
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.[2]
TheOlympic Dam mine atRoxby Downs started operations in 1988, operated byWestern Mining Corporation. A large underground mine, it was mainly focussed oncopper production, with uranium,gold, andsilver as by-products. Western Mining Corporation was taken over byBHP Billiton in 2005.[2]
Historically, many prospective Australian uranium mines have been constrained by activeantinuclear opposition, but state governments have now approved mine development inWestern Australia andQueensland.[22] As of 2013 uranium prices were very low.Cameco placed theKintyre project on hold until market prices improve andPaladin stated that its project proposals (Bigrlyi, Angela/Pamela, Manyingee, Oobagooma, and Valhalla/Skal) needed higher uranium market prices before they can proceed.Toro wanted to take theWiluna proposal to the development phase, but had not been successful in attracting equity investors. If and when market prices rise again, so that mine development is justified, most projects would need at least five years to proceed to production.[23]
Generally, there is only one commercial use for uranium: as the source material fornuclear power generation. In February 2009 there were 436 operational nuclear power plants worldwide, with a total generating capacity of nearly 372 gigawatts of electricity.[25] Another 64 nuclear power reactors are expected to be commissioned over the next six years.
There are nonuclear power generation plants operating in Australia and therefore no domestic demand. TheHigh Flux Australian Reactor atLucas Heights, New South Wales operated from 1958 to 2007. TheOPAL research reactor is currently in operation at Lucas Heights.
Australian uranium is mined and sold only for electrical power generation ornuclear research, Almost all the uranium is exported under strictInternational Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.
Uranium mining in Australia has been highly political, particularly for theAustralian Labor Party (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 underBob Hawke introduced the so-called "Three mine policy".[26] The policy confined Australian uranium mining activities to the three sites already operational:Ranger,Nabarlek andOlympic Dam with a moratorium on new mines opening. Subsequently, reserves at Nabarlek were depleted and theBeverley Uranium Mine became the notional third mine.
The coalition won the1996 Federal election underJohn Howard 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 theEnvironment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999.[27]
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.[28]
After returning to government in 2008, the ALP approved a fourth uranium mine in July 2009: theFour Mile uranium mine in South Australia, thus ending its 25-year-old policy.[29] Federal Resources MinisterMartin Ferguson subsequently declared that increased uranium mining in Australia was inevitable.[30]
The Western Australian ban on uranium mining was removed in 2008.[25]
Queensland's ban on uranium mining was revoked in 2012, when PremierCampbell Newman back-flipped on a pre-election promise.[31] In March 2015 the Palaszczuk government announced that it would be reinstating the ban.[32]
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.[33]
Opposition to uranium mining has been considerable in Australia, and notable anti-uranium activists have includedDr Helen Calidicott,Kevin Buzzacott,Jacqui Katona,Yvonne Margarula, andJillian Marsh.[34][35][36] In the 1970s and 1980s demonstrations numbering up to tens of thousands people were held around Australia and the loading of yellowcake on ships was disrupted by environmentalists and unionists.[22] In 1983 and 1984 the Olypmic Dam mine at Roxby Downs was blockaded and an anti-uranium vigil maintained between each protest.[37]
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 thenuclear non-proliferation treaty.
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, localtraditional owners and Indigenous communities protested the proposed expansion.[38] In July 2012, more than 400 people joined a "Lizard's Revenge march" to the Olympic Dam site. Theanti-nuclear activists, including ElderKevin Buzzacott, 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.[39] In August 2012, BHP Billiton announced that the expansion was being postponed indefinitely pending investigation of a "new and cheaper design".[40][41]
In 2016, BHP Billiton's asset president, Jacqui McGill, announced that the expansion plans would move ahead, "through low-risk, capital efficient underground expansions."[42]
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)).
Until 2012, theUranium 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).
Mining uranium was banned in Queensland from 1989 to 2012. The ban was repealed by theNewman government, then thePalaszczuk government in 2015 announced that it would be reinstated.[43][44]
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.[45] On 15 November 2016 the government decided to support all five uranium mining related recommendations made by the commission.[46]
Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Act 1983 - s.5: Prohibition against exploration etc. for uranium or thorium
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.[47][48]
About 96% of known resources are at six sites: Olympic Dam (the world's largest known uranium deposit), Ranger, Jabiluka, Koongarra, Kintyre and Yeelirrie.[2]
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