Action needed to counter uranium threat in WA

December 2, 1998
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Action needed to counter uranium threat in WA

By Stuart Munckton

PERTH — When the Coalition was elected in 1996, the West Australian Anti-uranium Coalition had this to say in its uranium policy: "The new government will approve any mine, any time, anywhere, at any cost to the environment and ... taxpayer". The response of companies looking to develop uranium mines in WA following the re-election of the Coalition proves it right.

The front page of the West Australian on October 6 spelled it out in big letters: "Poll win sparks WA uranium rush".

The article reported that local mining companies saw the election result as a green light for development of their proposed uranium mines.

WA is threatened with up to 20 mines. With a growing market for uranium due to 15 proposed new reactors in the Asian region, WA's more than 50 uranium deposits are just too much for big business to ignore.

At the moment, there are around 300 uranium leases in the state. The WA Department of Resource Development has already designated 11 uranium areas as suitable for development.

In October, to aid those planning to mine uranium, the federal and state governments announced a large taxpayer-funded study of the state's mid-west area to determine mineral prospects and infrastructure needs.

Acclaim

A number of companies are looking to mine uranium in WA, including the transnational Rio Tinto. The main company to watch is the newly formed Acclaim Uranium NL, which was set up in May 1997. Acclaim has put together a portfolio of 15 mines in WA, and has a grand total of 94 tenements.

Acclaim boasts as its chairperson Bill Hassell, who was leader of the WA Liberal Party during the 1980s and a minister in the Charles Court and Ray O'Connor governments. He was until recently the president of the WA branch of the Liberal Party.

Whilst he was a leader of the opposition in state parliament, Hassell was notorious for his anti-native title views. This is especially relevant given that all but one of Acclaim's leases are currently subject to native title claims.

Acclaim has, as part of its code of conduct, a statement committing the company to "practices which will ensure compliance with Aboriginal heritage legislation".

Perhaps Hassell has softened his stance on Aboriginal rights, because this is what he had to say on the issue as leader of the opposition: "The Burke socialist government and the federal socialist government are trying to divide Australia on racial grounds".

Hassell and Acclaim's mates in the Liberal Party, though, are trying their hardest to sort the question of native title out for them and other mining companies by introducing to state parliament a particularly nasty piece of native title legislation which, if passed, will result in the complete extinguishment of native title on at least two-thirds of all leases in WA.

Kintyre

The mine that is likely to be first up for development, however, belongs to Rio Tinto, which owns the uranium deposit at Kintyre, 1200 km north of Perth. There are similarities between this proposed mine and the mine at Jabiluka: the uranium deposit, originally, was inside a national park, and the development of a mine is opposed by the area's traditional owners.

The traditional owners are the Martu people, who have lived there for at least 5000 years. In 1997 the Martu people made a public statement with the Mirrar and other Aboriginal groups in which they condemned uranium mining.

The fact that the deposit is in a national park is no problem for Rio Tinto. It simply got the government of the day to change the boundaries of the park so they no longer included the uranium deposit.

When Rio Tinto first discovered the deposit in 1985, it was within the Karlamilyi-Rudall River National Park. Following extensive lobbying by the multinational giant, the newly elected state Liberal government, in 1993, passed legislation which excised the uranium deposit from the park.

The excising of the area provides evidence of why the anti-uranium movement cannot rely on the Labor Party to end uranium mining: although it was a Liberal government which put the legislation through parliament, the legislation had already been worked out by the previous Labor government, then headed by none other than Carmen Lawrence, currently the shadow minister for the environment.

During the recent federal election campaign, Labor's hypocrisy on uranium mining reached phenomenal levels, with Lawrence publicly opposed not just the Jabiluka mine but also the mine at Kintyre.

While the environmental problems associated with mining uranium are always great, with Kintyre the problems are heightened.

Firstly, the proposed mine is in an area which is one of the best examples of undisturbed desert ecosystem in the world. Because of the presence of a system of permanent water holes, the area has an usually rich and diverse range of flora and fauna.

Secondly, the extraction of uranium from the ore will have to take place by what is known as "dry processing", unlike most other mines. The process increases the risk of radioactive particles escaping into the air. Workers in the mine will be subject to even higher that normal health risks because of this.

Thirdly, Rio Tinto's environmental record is not great. Another mine owned by the company, the Rum Jungle uranium mine, spilled radioactive tailings into the East Finniss River, killing all life downstream.

Other mines

Other proposed mines which are likely to be among the first to be developed include Manyingee and Lake Way, both of which received Environmental Protection Authority approval in the early 1980s.

Also likely to begin development is the Yeelirie uranium deposit, which was developed in the '70s and '80s. Eleven tonnes of yellowcake were produced from the Yeelirie deposit. Development, which may begin again, was stalled after the joint venture fell through and the election of the Labor government with its three mines policy prevented any further development.

The environmental threat to the state is very large. Senator Dee Margetts pointed out that international agreements may prevent the waste from such mines being shipped overseas, so that there may need to be a nuclear waste storage facility built as well.

Margetts condemned the proposed mines, pointing out that they affected Aboriginal land rights, national park issues and public health and safety.

Margetts spoke of importance of the campaign to stop the Jabiluka mine, saying that the Liberals and big business saw Jabiluka as symbolic, feeling that if they can get away with a uranium mine at Jabiluka, inside Kakadu National Park, then they can get away with one anywhere.

The campaign against the 20 proposed mines has already begun with the Jabiluka Action Group of WA (JAG) organising a Festival of the Sun for December 13 which will include a street parade. The main demand of the festival will be "No uranium mines in WA".

The threat from these mines should not be underestimated. A mass campaign involving the broadest possible layers of society is needed to demand no uranium mining, at Jabiluka, at Kintyre or anywhere.

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