Grandiose uranium mine depicted as a tourist attraction!
As well as a giant open pit, the company will leave behind a small mountain of unused rocks and a large tailings storage facility, which will need to be fenced off with warnings of the potential for radiation exposure.
Once mining stops, the pit is expected to fill with rising groundwater, creating a vast outback lake that would be up to 350m deep.
BHP Billiton says backfilling is not a feasible option and has suggested the South Australian Government resume control of the pit and turn it into a managed tourist attraction. It says the government would be responsible for building and maintaining viewing platforms and controlling access by tourists, students and scientists.
It suggests the rock storage, where it will dump the ”overburden” of surface rock and soil which will take about five years to remove, should be returned as crown land and could also be used for tourism….
The expanded mine is planned to be productive for 40 years……
Anti-nuclear groups and the Greens have criticised the conditions for not going far enough, but are equally concerned about what will be left behind.
The Australian Nuclear Free Alliance said almost nine billion tonnes of radioactive waste would remain in northern SA. A spokeswoman said if that was acceptable to the SA Government, then it was setting the bar ”extremely low”.
”The radioactive waste will remain on Kokatha and Arabunna country long after BHP Billiton packs up its business and moves on,” she said, referring to traditional indigenous landowners of the region…. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/mine-could-one-day-be-a-tourist-attraction/2320845.aspx
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