Blockade of Beverley uranium mine planned

Blockade of Beverley uranium mine planned

By Bronwen Beechey

ADELAIDE — Opponents of uranium mining plan to set up a blockade of the Beverley uranium mine in South Australia from February 25. The mine is situated in the foothills of the Flinders Ranges.

Heathgate Resources, a subsidiary of the United States military corporation General Atomics, began test mining in January 1998 and is planning to commence full-scale production later this year. It will be using the sulphuric acid in-situ leach method of mining which has been banned in other parts of the world.

This method of mining puts the ground waters at risk of immediate contamination. The Great Artesian Basin, which supplies almost all of desert communities water needs, is only 50 to 100 metres below the Beverley aquifer.

The mine is situated on land belonging to the Adnyamathanha people. Opponents of the mine claim that Heathgate, with the support of the federal government, used divide and conquer tactics on the Adnyamathanha traditional owners to gain access to Beverley.

Traditional burial areas and other sacred sites have been violated by the mining development, and elders have been denied access to their land. Previous attempts to blockade the mine were violently broken up by police.

Activists will be meeting with local Adnyamathanha people on February 25 and 26 at the Nepabunna community, near Copley, before proceeding to the mine site. For more information on the blockade, phone (08) 8675 2442.

From GLW issue 393