Reckless and radioactive: Ranger uranium project must close
Australian Greens spokesperson on nuclear issues, Senator Scott Ludlam. 9 December 2013. Today in senate question time, Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam asked the Environment Minister’s representative about the massive spill of 1.4 million litres of radioactive acid at the Ranger Uranium Mine.
In response to the Government’s feeble and evasive answers, Senator Ludlam has submitted a detailed log of questions to Commonwealth environmental regulators and has called for the closure of the mine.
“The Minister representing the Environment Minister played down the events over the weekend and the on-going leakage and contamination problems at the Ranger mine.
“In fact this mine has an atrocious track record with more than 150 spills, leaks and license breaches since it opened in 1981. Just a few weeks ago a contaminated vehicle was somehow allowed out of the site. In 2004 workers drank and showered in water laced with uranium. I revealed through Senate Estimates that water with uranium concentrations 5400 times background and a cocktail of other radionuclides are seeping from beneath the tailings dam at Ranger.
“This mine must halt operations until an independent assessment can be completed. In addition, there should be there should be no handing over of federal powers to assess and approve uranium mining projects to state or Territory governments.
“ERA and its hapless regulators must now bring forward plans for the orderly closure of this mine, and entertain no further proposals for extending the life of this clapped out mine.”
Senator Ludlam’s Question Without Notice in Question Time today:http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/content/questions-without-notice/questions-asked-about-1-million-litres-radioactive-acid-spilled-ran
Senator Ludlam’s Question on Notice to the Environment Minister:http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/content/questions-notice/detailed-questions-nuclear-disaster-ranger-uranium-mine
Aboriginal opposition is likely to finish off Ranger uranium project
Major uranium leak endangers Kakadu – but played down Indymedia Australia, 9 Dec 13;Gerry Georgatos – courtesy of The Stringer –http://thestringer.com.au/ – A million litres of radioactive slurry has contaminated Kakadu National Park from a burst tank at Ranger uranium mine. It is a significant toxic accident but it has surprisingly generated relatively minimal news coverage. It took the local Traditional Owners to break the news to Australia.
Unease in share market over ERA’s Ranger uranium mine
it is unclear whether the [Rio Tinto]current leadership, which last month announced the closure of the loss-making Gove Alumina Refinery in the Northern Territory, will continue to show such strong support for a struggling mine with so many environmental and indigenous issues.
ERA shares facing pressure over uranium leak, SMH, Peter Ker, December 9, 2013 Rio Tinto’s hopes of reviving its majority-owned Ranger uranium mine have been dealt another blow by the leak of toxic substances on Saturday….
… Shares in the Rio Tinto subsidiary that operates the mine – Energy Resources of Australia – are traded on the ASX and may come under pressure on Monday morning as federal and Northern Territory regulators conduct investigations.
Processing of uranium has been halted on site until the clean-up and testing can be completed and, with some fearing that halt could last weeks, the market will be keen to know if ERA will need to buy uranium on the market to ensure it can meet its supply contracts.
ERA shares have traded around $1.30 over the past five to six weeks and most of the value in the stock is attached to hopes of starting a new underground uranium mine beneath the Ranger pits, which ceased mining last year after more than three decades.
The underground development is still being explored and will face a heavy load of approvals before it is allowed to proceed. Continue reading
Doubts on the future of ERA’s Ranger uranium project
Investigation as radioactive leak leaves Ranger uranium mine under a cloud SMH, Lucy Battersby and Peter Ker December 9, 2013 The future of Australia’s oldest uranium mine is under renewed scrutiny, after a tank holding more than a million litres of radioactive slurry burst at the weekend, sparking a federal investigation.
The accident prompted traditional land owners to describe the Ranger uranium mine as a ”hillbilly operation” with too little regulation. The mine has a history of safety breaches and unions have raised concerns about maintenance standards at the 33-year-old operation…… Continue reading
Australian Greens call for permanent closure of accident-prone Ranger uranium mine
Greens call for end of Ranger uranium mine operations after slurry spill ABC News 8 Dec 13 The Greens are calling for a permanent end to operations at the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory after a radioactive spill at the site yesterday morning.
A tank containing up to a million litres of uranium ore and acid split, damaging the crane that was trying to repair it and surrounding infrastructure at the mine near Kakadu National Park…..
West Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam says the mine should now be shut down for good.
“The company thinks that the way to save operations at Ranger is to go underground through the 3 Deeps projects,” he said.
“As far as the Greens are concerned the company should be as good as its word and close that facility when its lease runs out.
“I think this latest disaster doesn’t improve anyone’s confidence that the mine is capable of running for another 10 or 15 years.”
Senator Ludlam says there are a number of lessons to be learned from the incident, and has called for the Federal Government to reconsider giving more approval power over uranium mines to state and territory governments.
“I think some short-term lessons include the company disclosing how many other of these leach tanks there are, and whether they’re in the same condition as the one that burst,” he said.
“But in the longer term, this is a very strong sign for Environment Minister Greg Hunt that under no circumstances should he let regulation of the uranium sector go back to the states and territories.”….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-08/greens-call-for-end-of-ranger-uranium-mine-operations/5142734
Call for no uranium exported through Queensland port: Protect Barrier Reef!
Anti-nuclear campaigner seeks port uranium assurances http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-05/anti-nuclear-campaigner-seeks-abbot-point-uranium/5137248 An anti-nuclear campaigner is calling on the Queensland Government to rule out that uranium will be exported through the Port of Mackay.
Last year, the Newman Government reversed a long-standing ban on uranium mining in Queensland.
The port’s operator, North Queensland Bulk Ports (NQBP), said it could be used to transport associated mining equipment.
Mark Bailey from Keep Queensland Nuclear Free says he has serious concerns about the possibility of the resource being shipped through the reef.”I don’t think any of us want uranium on the Great Barrier Reef and we certainly don’t want our tourism industry affected by an incident like a grounding on the reef in bad weather with a uranium ship,” he said.
“This has happened before, you know Cameco had a ship that hit bad weather in the Pacific. If that happens on the reef, the publicity will be very bad.”
He says he wants assurances Abbot Point will not be used.
A spokesman for NQBP says there are no plans to export the commodity through the Port of Mackay at this stage.
“We will fight uranium mining in Western Australia, every step of the way”
“There has never been a successful uranium mine in Australia. Each one has had its accidents, its spills, its leaks and its failed rehabilitation.”
“Uranium is the asbestos of the 21st century”
Forty uranium mines is the plan for Western Australia The Stringer, by Gerry Georgatos November 29th, 2013“……….Ms Pepper said there is still time to halt the push for uranium to be mined. “It is a long way from a Federal approval to an operating mine and we will be there every step of the way contesting and opposing this uranium mine and any other proposed uranium mine in WA.” Continue reading
Uranium under pressure means tough times for Toro
Toro Energy – the company seeking to open WA’s first uranium mine – will be the focus of critical attention from local residents, Traditional Owners and State and National environment groups at its annual meeting in Perth today.
Opponents of the company’s uranium mining plans will greet Toro executives and shareholders with an independent report casting doubt on the economic viability of the company as well as the broader nuclear industry.
A theatrical performance outside the AGM will also demonstrate that the nuclear industry’s vital signs are ‘flat lining’.
“Toro have expanded their proposal from one risky and unviable uranium mine in Wiluna, to a series of equally small and risky deposits in the region” said CCWA campaigner Mia Pepper. “What they won’t tell shareholders is that this expansion plan will represent more delays, more costs, more environmental problems, and more community opposition.”
“Toro have failed to fully disclose the complexity, risk and lack of formal approval for its long term plans.”
“CCWA and the Australian Conservation Foundation oppose the current proposal and will actively contest the company’s plan for seven uranium mines across 200km and 2 lake systems which will involve a doubling of water use and radioactive mine waste”.
“Toro’s shareholders will have a very long wait before this company will be profitable, if ever. The conditional approval granted for the Wiluna mining proposal prohibits the company from doing any other preparatory works for a mine until thirty six conditions are met and further management plans are approved.”
“Financial problems have dogged the uranium sector with low uranium prices, high operating costs and a lack of investor confidence following the global decline in nuclear power post Fukushima,” said Ms Pepper.
“While some companies are cutting their losses Toro is on track for tough times ahead”.
Uranium loses its glow at SA mining conference
AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION, 26 Nov 13, Uranium hopefuls will be hard pressed to find a positive story about the embattled sector at a mining industry conference this week in South Australia. The last two weeks have seen further evidence of the continuing market fallout from Fukushima on SA’s embattled uranium sector with the closure of the Honeymoon operation and the decision by Marathon Resources to exit the uranium trade, declaring the sector’s ‘risks outweigh the rewards’.
The news comes as a set of uranium junior companies join with the Beverley project’s Heathgate Resources to talk up the sector at the 2013 Mining South Australia conference, which starts today in Whyalla.
Australia’s uranium industry is suffering from:
- · The scrapping of plans for a massive expansion of BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine in SA because of the ‘uncertain’ uranium market
- · A fall in the uranium commodity price of around 50 per cent and larger falls in the share value of uranium mining companies since Fukushima – a continuing crisis directly fuelled by Australian uranium
- · Sustained losses and operational failures at ERA’s Ranger mine in Kakadu
- · Attempts by Queensland uranium promoters to receive ‘royalty relief’ and public concessions even before making any formal applications to mine
- · Projects stalled, scrapped or deferred in WA, SA and the NT
“The uranium industry has long caused trouble, now it is increasingly in trouble,” said Australian Conservation Foundation nuclear free campaigner Dave Sweeney. “Uranium mining is a high-risk, low-return sector that poses unique, unresolved and long-lived threats and does not enjoy secure social license.
“It is time for politicians to stop accepting industry promises and start genuinely examining industry performance. “ACF urges state and federal governments to give effect to the UN Secretary General’s call that Australia conduct ‘an in-depth assessment of the net cost impact of the impacts of mining fissionable material (uranium) on local communities and ecosystems’.
“Instead of misplaced industry enthusiasm it is time for a comprehensive and independent assessment of the costs and consequences of the uranium sector.”
Busting the uranium industry’s propaganda that “all is well’ with that industry
Time to spill truth on uranium sector, Townsville Bulletin, DAVE SWEENEY, 23 Nov 13, THERE is an old saying that no trader calls out ‘‘bad fish’’. So it comes as no surprise that a former uranium company executive now paid to do public relations for the uranium sector will say all is well in the industry (Uranium: safety first, TB, 18/11). The reality is the industry is in very poor shape, financially and operationally – as can be seen by the recent mothballing of the Honeymoon mine in South Australia, because the numbers didn’t add up, and the backroom push by the Queensland Resources Council to get ‘‘royalty relief for Queensland uranium mines that have not even filed an application to develop yet.
The most recent independent assessment of the Australian uranium industry – an inquiry by the Australian Senate in October 2003 – found the sector characterised by underperformance and noncompliance, an absence of reliable data to measure contamination or its impact and an operational culture focused on the short-term.
Uranium mining is a high-risk, low-return sector that poses unique unresolved and long-lived threats and does not enjoy secure social license. Australian uranium fuelled Fukushima. Every Australian uranium mining operation has a history of leaks and spills. The need to manage radioactive materials over extremely long periods, along with security and
proliferation concerns, make uranium mining fundamentally different from other mining. In the shadow of Fukushima, and given the call by the UN Secretary General in September 2011 that Australia conduct an indepth assessment of the net cost impact of the impacts of uranium mining on communities and ecosystems, it is time the industry and state and federal governments supported a comprehensive and independent assessment of the costs and consequences.
The continued failure to do so highlights the industry’s preference for public relations over public scrutiny– and the fact that uranium is a very smelly fish.
Senator Ludlam gets evasive answers on Toro Energy’s uranium mining plans
Senator LUDLAM: The company [Toro Energy] may be telling markets one thing and regulators another, which is a dangerous situation for it to be in, if that is the case.
Senator LUDLAM: If I understood your colleague correctly, the assessment of uranium mines is being delegated to states and you are leaving the door open for approvals of uranium mining to also be conducted by states. If these powers go ahead, what will our environment minister actually do? What would be left for the minister to do? Would we even need one?
Senator LUDLAM: This is a 30-year ark of Commonwealth environmental law being dissolved and handed back to the states.
Senator Ludlam asks questions about WA uranium mining approvals
WA uranium mining approvals Senate estimates committee 18 Nov 2013 | Scott Ludlam
Senator LUDLAM: I presume one of the 48 is the Toro uranium proposal, which was on the minister’s desk when the government changed hands. The former minister had made a number of quite extensive and complex requests of Toro. Would you provide us with an update as to whether officers of agencies have met with the company or exactly where that proposal is up to.
Senator LUDLAM: No, it has not-or it was approved, but the minister would not sign off until quite a large number of conditions had been met, and they had not yet been met. Continue reading
Senator Waters gets no straight answers on the Government’s plan to hand uranium assessment to the States
Senator WATERS: …..Am I clear in that you will attempt to retain Commonwealth land and water but will not attempt to retain jurisdiction over state-run projects?
The hand over of EPBC nuclear approvals to states, Senate estimates committee 18 Nov 2013 | Scott Ludlam
“……...Senator WATERS: “…….Could you please explain to me: what is the intended effect of the alteration to the scope of the bilateral agreement as regards nuclear actions and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park waters and Commonwealth waters? What is the effective change? It is on page 7, particularly clause 12.3. ……..
Marathon uranium project closed – unviable due to poor uranium market
Explorer says uranium project unviable Yahoo 7 Finance 21 Nov 13, Minerals exploration company Marathon Resources has turned its back on the uranium industry for good. The company says its experience suggests the “risks were more likely to exceed rewards” in a sector hit by low ore prices.
“Both the political and regulatory regimes have deterred us permanently from the uranium industry,” chairman Peter Williams told the company’s annual meeting in Adelaide on Thursday. Marathon previously has been involved in exploring a section of South Australia’s Flinders Ranges with a view to developing a significant uranium deposit.
However, it fell foul of the South Australian government over the disposal of waste while the government eventually moved to ban all mining in the environmentally-sensitive area anyway.
Since then, the uranium industry has been hit by falling commodity prices which also has prompted mining giant BHP Billiton to mothball its plans for a $30 billion expansion of its Olympic Dam copper and gold operations…… industry is presently witnessing that part of the cycle where the spot price for product has fallen dramatically below production costs sufficient to amortise large capital costs,” he said…….. http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/explorer-says-uranium-project-unviable-032809245.html
Arabunna elder highlights the costs of BHP’s uranium trade at annual meeting
21 Nov 13, Mr Kevin Buzzacott, the President of the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance and a respected Arabunna elder will today take his concerns over the proposed expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium mine in South Australia to BHP Billiton’s annual meeting in Perth. Mr Buzzacott has been vocal in opposing the Olympic Dam uranium mine and the planned expansion. Mr Buzzacott unsuccessfully tried to halt the expansion through the courts and has now been ordered to pay court costs to the Government and to BHPB. At today’s meeting he will be asking whether BHP, the world’s largest miner, will be seeking to follow this cost order.
“I’m an Arabunna elder and I’ve spent the last thirty years trying to protect my country and the water from my country from this monster mine,” said Mr Buzzacott. “Now I’ve come all the way from South Australia because this is so important for me, I’m getting old and this could be my last chance to get BHPB to quit to shut Olympic Dam down and leave the desert and us in peace.”
“All my life I’ve stood up for my country because that is the right thing, that’s what we’re taught to do. Now BHPB have a choice whether they’re going to penalise me, take me for the court costs, for standing up for my country – or whether they’re going to respect my rights to protect those sacred places.”
The planned massive expansion of Olympic Dam has been shelved because of low uranium prices and market uncertainty. The current Olympic Dam mine consumes over thirty five million litres of water day from the Great Artesian Basin from Arabunna country and any future expansion would increase pressure on water resources.
“Now you say the expansion is on hold well we have a right to know whether you’re going to try and get this expansion happening or not. I mean it doesn’t make sense to dig deeper when people are waking up and saying no to the nuclear industry around the world.”
“Our land is our life and we will follow BHP Billiton to the ends of the earth to stop this mine from damaging our country and draining our water,” concluded Mr Buzzacott.
Ranger Uranium Mine safety record cause for concern…again
20 Nov 13 The Northern Territory (NT) Branch of the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) is very concerned that four drums used for yellowcake transport have recently been found at a property in Darwin’s rural area, as reported in local media.
“We expect an immediate investigation into the radioactivity of these drums will follow and a further public and environmental health response will be taken accordingly. We understand these drums have since been claimed by ERA and taken to the Ranger mine,” said Dr Michael Fonda, PHAA’s NT Branch Secretary.
This current case follows a serious operational breach earlier this month where a Ranger mine vehicle left a controlled and contaminated area without authorisation.
“These latest incidents – in the context of more than one hundred reported safety failures over the last 30 years – continue to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the safety regulations at Ranger. They also come at a time when ERA is seeking approval for an expansion to uranium mining at the Ranger mine with the 3 Deepsunderground project,” explained Dr Fonda.
Of further concern are comments made by NT Mines Minister Willem Westra van Holthe yesterday, suggesting less Federal Government scrutiny in future NT uranium mining projects.
“These safety incidents, along with the inherent dangers associated with the uranium industry, reinforce the importance of strict government regulation at a federal level. The NT Branch of PHAA is calling for an urgent independent public inquiry into the safety operations at Ranger, including any proposed expansion of the industry in the region,” said Dr Fonda.
For further information/comment: Dr Michael Fonda, NT Branch Secretary, Public Health Association of Australia 0429 435 595
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