Four Mile uranium mine

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The Four Mile uranium mine was a planned and approved by the Australian government to mine uranium mining project near the Lake Frome in South Australia, Australia. The uranium deposit is located approximately 550 km from Adelaide and 10 km from the Beverley Uranium Mine already exploited. In this project should begin in the first quarter of 2010 with its mining operations and the tenth-largest uranium mine in the world after 10 years, the first new Australian uranium mine. The project failed because the mining company failed to reach an agreement with the Aborigines who hold over the affected area a Native Title.

Mine

The Four Mile uranium mine would be the fifth operating uranium mine in Australia has become, in the largest uranium deposit discovered in Australia should be reduced over the past 25 years. In June 2009, Alliance Resources announced that the occurrence of 28000 tonnes of uranium oxide, the ore body contains ten times as much uranium as the deposit of Olympic Dam and twice as much as the occurrence at the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory. The deposit should be exhausted after 15 years.

Originally it was planned, the mine of the Quasar Resources Pty Ltd with 75% of the Alliance Resources Ltd. with 25 % share capital to operate together. The Quasar Resources is economically connected to the Heath Gate Resources Pty Ltd, which owns and operates the nearby Beverley uranium mine.

Uranium mining in the sand rock should by solving (English: in - situ leaching) take place, is being introduced into the ore body oxidizing fluid after drilling, which mobilizes the uranium. The solution is introduced into the outer portion of the ore body via injection wells. In the center of the ore body, the holes are drilled, promote the uranium-bearing solution. This is a flow of the fluid ensured to the center of the deposit and uncontrolled spread be prevented in the rock. Should be created in the environment of the deposit additional monitoring wells that serve to control, to avoid causing contamination in the vicinity of the deposit. The operator of the mine had the intention to begin in the first quarter of 2010, a year with the production of 1400 t of uranium oxide. The process appeared to the approval authority as not secure enough.

Approval

The mining permit in 2005 discovered uranium deposit was issued by the Australian Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts Peter Garrett on July 14, 2009. It was the first mining permit guided by one of the Australian Labor Party (ALP ) government, after they had decided on their bi- yearly National Conference 2007, the end of their three- mines policy on uranium mines. With the approval of Minister Garrett announced that he "Certain this surgery poses no credible risk to the environment" ( German: " it is certain that this operation is no identifiable risk to the environment" ). The granting of authorization was supported by the Prime Minister of South Australia Mike Rann.

The mining permit also supported the Australian Uranium Association ( AUA). The managing director of AUA described the decision as " heartened " ( German: "encouraging" ), as these " tells [the industry ] did if we continue to meet Those high environmental standards, Which the (Environment ) Minister himself Applies, then we will be able to continue to expand " ( German: " decision reported that the industry, if developed further to the high environmental standards - applied by the environment minister himself - we are able to expand. ") supported the Australian Workers ' Union this decision and the national secretary Paul Howes said of the decision that one: " represents a significant win for Australia's resource industry" ( German: " represents a significant win for Australia's resource industries " ) and that this " [ Provide ] revenue for did state 's coffers and opportunities to create good, well -paid Australian jobs " ( German: provides income for the state coffers and offers the possibility golden, well-paid jobs to create )

A contrary view was of the Australian Conservation Foundation ( ACF) and spoke of a relaxation of environmental standards. The ACF was particularly concerned by a possible contamination of groundwater by the activities of the mine. One of the Aboriginal Adnyamathanha, the traditional owners of this area, expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision, and combined them with the practices of Australian governments, which had in the past led to the Stolen Generation.

End of project

Alliance Resources announced in September 2009 that the project was completed in April 2009. There was a lack of permission by the Aborigines, who can log on to the site use by a Native Title reservations. The government had linked the mining permit to the consent of the Aborigines. The project costs of two uranium deposits in Four Mile East and Four Mile West totaled A $ 90 million.