More uranium mines for SA
By Sam King
ADELAIDE — Australia's uranium industry is to be boosted with the planned expansion of the Beverley and Honeymoon "trial" mines in South Australia.
Southern Cross Resources (SCR) plans to open a new mine at its Honeymoon site at Goulds Dam. It believes it will be producing uranium by 2001. The expansion is expected to boost SCR's profits by $20 million.
General Atomics (GA), operator of the Beverley mine, is also seeking to expand its activities.
These new developments would be additional to existing "trial" mines at the Honeymoon and Beverley sites.
A "trial" uranium mine is one that operates before an environmental impact statement has been conducted and without approval of the Aboriginal traditional owners. The Honeymoon mine is already operating at 25% of its full capacity.
Both mines use the acid in-situ leaching technique to extract uranium. This involves injecting sulphuric acid into the aquifer, dissolving the uranium. This toxic solution is then pumped to the surface for the extraction of the uranium.
There are four native title claims over the Beverley area. GA has issued a "notice to negotiate" to the Adnyamathanha people for the expansion. If the expansion is not approved within six months, GA can take the Adnyamathanha to the environment resource and development court.
The draft EIS has not been released, so the Adnyamathanha people have no way of assessing the mine's impact. The threat of a lengthy, expensive and possibly unsuccessful court battle is designed to pressure the traditional owners to approve the expansion.