Mining

21 June 2001

Jabiluka must be Rehabilitated Now

Australian Conservation Foundation
Environment Centre NT
Friends of the Earth Australia

The Jabiluka uranium mine site in Kakadu requires immediate environmental attention and repair. Environment groups have today called for the rehabilitation of areas disturbed by the controversial project ahead of next week's meeting of the World Heritage Bureau in Paris. The new call follows confirmation by Rio Tinto, the majority owner of the Jabiluka lease, that "there is no near term prospect of development at Jabiluka even being contemplated".

"The fact that there is now no short-term development plans for Jabiluka highlights the need for rehabilitation," stated the Northern Territory Environment Centre's Mark Wakeham. "We have a 20,000 tonne stockpile of ore containing uranium on site that is currently covered by a tarpaulin. We need a better long term solution to ensure there is no leaching of radiation to the Kakadu environment, especially as water has been accumulating on site and becoming contaminated for the past 3 wet seasons. Obviously this is an unacceptable long term situation".

The rehabilitation call comes in response to formal statements from Rio Tinto at company meetings in both Sydney and London earlier this year that the company did not support the development of Jabiluka in the "short term". The Australian Senate also passed a resolution calling for the rapid rehabilitation of Jabiluka after the Rio Tinto announcement.

"The Jabiluka site needs rehabilitation now", outlined Dave Sweeney of the Australian Conservation Foundation. "The ore already extracted should be buried and sealed in the decline, the water ponds fully rehabilitated and the site re-vegetated. The current situation has arisen as a result of premature approvals from both the NT Government and the Commonwealth and they and Rio Tinto must now act to limit the on-site environmental impacts and safeguard Kakadu".

"Traditional owners, environment groups and the Australian public have rejected the Jabiluka mine proposal", concluded Loretta O'Brien of Friends of the Earth Australia. "We welcome news that the mine will not be developed in the short term, however the threats to Kakadu remain until the project is formally stopped, the site fully rehabilitated and the lease permanently incorporated into Kakadu National Park."

For more information contact ECNT:
Tel: 8981 1984
Email: ecnt@octa4.net.au

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