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24 November 2006

Mickey Mouse Monitoring at McArthur River mine.
The Environment Centre of the Northern Territory (ECNT) has reacted with dismay to the limitations the Minister for Mines has imposed on monitoring at McArthur River.

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13 October 2006

Martin Government washes its hands of McArthur River and traditional owners. All the NT’s unique rivers are now under threat as a result of this foolish and short-sighted decision.
The Environment Centre (ECNT) says that today’s announcement that the diversion of the McArthur River has been approved is indefensible on scientific, environmental, social or economic grounds.

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03 October 2006

PM's clumsy intervention a sign of desperation.
Undermines Commonwealth Environment Minister's statutory role.
The Environment Centre NT (ECNT) says last night’s 7.30 Report revelation that the Prime Minister is lobbying the NT government on behalf of Xstrata’s McArthur River mine expansion is a sign of desperation. ECNT has a copy of the letter dated 8 September from the Prime Minister to Clare Martin urging approval for the mine.

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29 September 2006

Warning of legal problems over McArthur mine approval.
The Environment Centre of the Northern Territory (ECNT) has warned of legal problems for the government if the McArthur River mine expansion is approved by new Mines Minister Chris Natt .

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11 September 2006

The Environment Centre NT; Mabungi Aboriginal Resource Association; Australian Conservation Foundation; The Wilderness Society and Australian Marine Conservation Society express grave concerns regarding the approval of the McArthur River mine expansion in a joint letter hand delivered to Minister for Mines, Chris Natt MLA.

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6 September 2006

Call for independent study of alternatives to McArthur River diversion. The Environment Centre says the government has a responsibility to the public and future generations to independently investigate alternatives to the diversion of the McArthur River for mining.

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28 August 2006

.Environmental approval for McArthur River diversion and mine ‘a big mistake’. The Environment Centre NT says the decision to give environmental approval to MRM/Xstrata for the diversion of the McArthur River and a massive open cut mine in the river bed is a big mistake and a backward step for the local region and the NT. ECNT spokesperson Emma King said, “Many major flaws, information gaps and environmental risks were documented in various submissions to the EPA and taken together they showed why the mine could not responsibly be approved.

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4 July 2006

.McArthur River revised mine plan a crucial test case for NT rivers and communities. The Environment Centre of the NT (ECNT) says the government’s handling of MRM/Xstrata’s revised plan to divert the McArthur River and mine the river bed is a crucial test case for the protection of the NT’s relatively pristine rivers and all the values and amenity they provide to the whole community.

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12 April 2006

McArthur mine river diversion should be ruled out by NT Government. The NT Government should refuse to assess a resubmitted mining proposal from McArthur River Mining (MRM) that involves diverting the McArthur River, says ECNT.

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11 April 2006

Inflated benefits and hidden costs: Independent economic assessment of McArthur River Mine needed. The economic benefits and costs associated with the McArthur River mine must be examined publicly and independently, ECNT said today.

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23 February 2006

McArthur open cut mine decision a great outcome for NT environment and community. The Environment Centre NT (ECNT) applauds the decision made today by the Minister for Natural Resources, Environment & the Arts, Marion Scrymgour, to not recommend approval of the McArthur River Mine Open Cut Project.

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28 October 2005

EIS submissions close - McArthur River mine proposal another Mt Todd in the making. Xstrata’s proposed McArthur River Mine Open Cut Project could well end up becoming another long-lasting environmental disaster for the Top End, the Environment Centre NT (ECNT) said today, and should not receive the go-ahead from the NT Government.

To view media release click here To view ECNT's submission click here (PDF132 KB)

16 September 2005

Parks Masterplan a welcome step forward for Territory environment - shame about the prospect of mining in national parks. The Environment Centre NT (ECNT) has welcomed the release of the Draft NT Parks and Conservation Masterplan earlier this week. We are, however, disappointed that the Draft Masterplan has not taken adequate steps to prohibit mining activity in the Territory’s national parks.

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20 July 2005

Tiwi Island sandmining proposal must be subject to full environmental assessment. The Environment Centre NT (ECNT) has urged the Territory government to ensure that the mineral sands mine on the Tiwi Islands proposed by WA company Matilda Minerals is subject to a full, high level environmental impact assessment process.

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8 July 2005

Uranium exploration in the Northern Territory –- the rush is on. An analysis of NT Government data by ECNT has found that there is currently a total area of 27,880 square kilometres (or 2.79 million hectares) in the NT being targeted by companies with interests in uranium.

Download the latest statistics (72 KB)

26 April 2005

Letter to French Embassy on "French Government involvement in proposed Koongarra uranium mine". Signed by ECNT, ACF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and The Wilderness Society and delivered on the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

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24 March 2005

Minister needs to check his own Government’s policy on new NT uranium mine". The Environment Centre NT (ECNT) says Federal Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources Ian Macfarlane needs to check his own Government’s policy on the proposed Koongarra uranium mine before he continues talking up new mines and the nuclear industry.

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29 March 2004

Full Investigation needed into Kakadu Uranium Leaks. Environmental groups have called for urgent Federal and Northern Territory government investigations into whether Rio Tinto's Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu has breached its operating license following recent serious contamination incidents. The mine has been closed since Wednesday after its drinking water supply was contaminated with uranium levels four hundred times greater than the maximum Australian safety standard.

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19 September 2003

NT Parks Bill presents big opportunities though mining our parks still a possibility. The Environment Centre NT has welcomed most aspects of the NT Government's Parks and Reserves (Framework for the Future) Bill. Released publicly today, the Bill follows a negotiation process between the Northern Territory Government and the Aboriginal Land Councils after many of the Northern Territory's National Parks and Reserves were found to be invalidly declared and will see most of the Territory's National Parks become jointly managed by government and traditional owners.

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26 August 2003

Dozers Rolling at Jabiluka Signal a Huge Win Tuesday August 12th 2003 marked an important day in the campaign to stop the Jabiluka uranium mine in Kakadu. On this day the trucks started rolling to begin rehabilitation works on site. Mirrar traditional owners and thousands of people from around Australia and internationally were successful in stopping further construction in 1999. Now the campaign has taken another major step with the 50,000 tonnes of uranium ore already extracted, but never processed, going back down the mine-shaft at Jabiluka.

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1 August 2003

Filling a Hole – Building a Future: Kakadu Mine Rehabilitation Welcomed. National environment groups have today welcomed a major step towards the protection of Kakadu National Park with confirmation that major rehabilitation works are about to start at Rio Tinto's controversial Jabiluka uranium mine site.

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17 April 2003

Plunder Down Under? Rio Tinto Urged to Clean up Controversial Uranium Mine. Leading Australian environmental groups have called on British mining giant Rio Tinto to deliver on a commitment by its Chairman Sir Robert Wilson to rehabilitate the stalled and controversial Jabiluka uranium mine site inside the World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory.

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3 December 2002

Rio Tinto Still Shipping Poison Out of Kakadu. Another shipment of uranium from Rio Tinto's Kakadu mine will leave Darwin's Fort Hill Wharf today, headed for the inevitable endpoint of nuclear waste or weapons –- the two unwanted consequences of this industry.

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25 October 2002

Negotiation On Parks The Way To Go But Mining And Exploration In Parks Unacceptable – The Environment Centre NT has welcomed the NT Government's announcement that it intends to negotiate with Land Councils over the tenure of the NT's National Parks and Reserves rather than commence legal actions. The NT Government has received legal advice that over 50 NT Parks have been invalidly declared following the Miriuwung and Gajerrong Native Title Claims.

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30 September 2002

Kakadu Uranium Mines Under The Spotlight. Major Regulatory Changes Required The Environment Centre NT will today present evidence to a Senate Inquiry into the 'Environmental Regulation of Uranium Mining' at its Darwin hearings. Hearings will be held today in NT Parliament House. The inquiry follows a number of recent leaks, incidents and reporting failures at Rio Tinto's Kakadu uranium mines and also at the Beverley and Honeymoon uranium mines in South Australia.

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30 August 2002

Actions Speak Louder Than Words. Rio Tinto must abandon attempts to mine Jabiluka. Australian environment groups will today challenge Rio Tinto to live up to its rhetoric on environmental and social performance at a mining industry event at the Hilton Hotel in Johannesburg.

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25 July 2002

36% Drop in Profits Signals No Future in Rio Tinto's Kakadu Uranium mine. Kakadu uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia, which is majority owned by Rio Tinto, yesterday announced a further 1/3 drop in after tax profits for the 6 months ending June 30 in a report to the Australian Stock Exchange. The report also notes that no dividends will be paid to shareholders due to the low level of profit, which stands at just $3.3 million for the 6 months. This announcement follows a similar result in January of this year when profit falls of 66% were recorded.

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20 June 2002

Senate Inquiry Spotlights Failing Uranium Industry. Key environment groups have welcomed a Senate decision today to hold an Inquiry into uranium mining. The move follows a series of leaks, spills and reporting failures at operations in the Northern Territory and South Australia.

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19 April 2002

Former employee blows whistle on Rio Tinto's Kakadu uranium mine. Senate Inquiry needed to investigate history of environmental failures - Key national and NT environment groups have today joined the call by the Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation for a Senate Inquiry into the adequacy of environmental regulation and monitoring at the Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu. The call follows reports yesterday by a former Ranger worker which detail major environmental breaches and systemic failures at the controversial operation.

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20 March 2002

Labor backflips on mining policy – no National Park is safe. The Environment Centre NT was outraged to learn this week that the Labor party has completely backed down on it's strong pre-election promise to ban mining and mineral exploration in National Parks.

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For a more detailed update click here

7 March 2002

Action needed on Kakadu uranium leak. Key environment groups have today urged immediate action to protect Kakadu National Park following confirmation of a series of leaks from the operations of uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia (ERA). The Australian Conservation Foundation, Friends of the Earth and the Environment Centre of the Northern Territory have called for the staged rehabilitation of the controversial Jabiluka mine site and an independent review of operations and impacts at the nearby Ranger uranium mine.

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1 March 2002

Answers needed on cyanide dumping. The Environment Centre NT has today called on the NT Government to move swiftly to prosecute and remove operating licences from those responsible for dumping cyanide beside the Tanami Highway. On February 11th a traditional owner discovered a 400 litre cyanide spill on the Tanami Highway. The spill is reported to have killed at least 500 birds and a dingo. The longer term environmental impacts of the spill are unclear at this stage.

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30 October 2001

Storm clouds gather for Kakadu uranium miner Traditional Owners refused Jabiluka access for inspection. The Mirrar people, the Traditional Owners of the Jabiluka uranium mine area in Kakadu, have today joined with key environment groups in a call to halt company plans for the disposal of contaminated water at the controversial mine site.

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18 October 2001

Kakadu uranium miner faces clean up call. Environment groups (ACF, ECNT and FoE) have called on Kakadu uranium miner ERA to detail rehabilitation and exit plans for the controversial Jabiluka uranium mine project at its AGM in Sydney today.

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21 June 2001

Jabiluka must be rehabilitated now. 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".

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27 April 2001

The Environment Centre welcomed the announcement today by Rio Tinto that the development of Jabiluka was a "remote possibility". The comment made by Rio Tinto at their Annual General Meeting was in response to concerns raised at the meeting by traditional owners and environment groups. Rio also acknowledged that Jabiluka could not be developed without the consent of traditional owners and that "clearly at this stage that consent is nowhere near forthcoming and maybe it will never be forthcoming." However Rio Tinto has yet to rule out the development of Jabiluka completely. Until it does so it will continue to be the target of community opposition to the Jabiluka development.

As one of the world's largest mining companies, Rio Tinto has a notoriously poor record.

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5 April 2001

More Doubt on Kakadu Mine Plan as Canadians look to sell. The future of the controversial Jabiluka uranium mine inside Kakadu National Park faces growing uncertainty following confirmation that Canadian nuclear corporation Cameco is seeking to quit the project. In a recent report to the Canadian Stock Exchange Cameco formally announced that it's current holding (6.45%) in mine proponent Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) is "available for sale".

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23 March 2001

Initial Kakadu Mine Move Welcomed. Key environment groups have today welcomed news of increased doubts over the future of the Jabiluka uranium project inside Kakadu National Park.

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19 February 2001

35 million litres of contaminated water being released into McArthur River daily – The Environment Centre NT has condemned MRM, operators of the McArthur River mine, for the continued release of contaminated mine water into the McArthur River.

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29 November 2000

Australian environment groups have condemned the Australian Government's attempts to undermine the World Heritage Convention and continued support of the Jabiluka mine.

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Tuesday 28 November 2000

With the World Heritage Committee meeting in Cairns environment groups have released a new report on the threats Jabiluka poses to Kakadu's World Heritage values.

Download the report (720 KB)

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