Why Australia has banned mining in one of the world’s largest uranium deposits
- July 28, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Why Australia has banned mining in one of the world’s largest uranium deposits
Sub: Geo
Sec: Eco geo
Ban on Mining at Jabiluka Site:
- Australia announced plans to ban mining at the Jabiluka site, which is surrounded by Kakadu National Park and contains one of the world’s largest high-grade uranium deposits.
- The park would be extended to include the Jabiluka site, aligning with the wishes of the Mirarr people, the Indigenous custodians of the land.
Indigenous and Archaeological Significance:
- The Mirarr people have long opposed mining at Jabiluka, and in 2017, archaeologists discovered ancient stone tools near the site, dating back tens of thousands of years.
Jabiluka mine:
- Jabiluka is a pair of uranium deposits and mine development in the Northern Territory of Australia that was to have been built on land belonging to the Mirarr clan of Aboriginal people.
- The mine site is surrounded by, but not part of, the World Heritage–listed Kakadu National Park.
Political Context and Legal History:
- The ban comes amid the opposition conservative Coalition‘s proposal to build nuclear power plants, challenging Australia’s 26-year nuclear ban.
- The Jabiluka site has been a contentious issue since the discovery of uranium in the early 1970s, with significant protests, including a blockade by the Mirarr people and the band Midnight Oil in the late 1990s.
- The decision follows international condemnation of Rio Tinto’s destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in 2020.
Source: IE