21 August 2018
The NT’s Ranger uranium mine is set to cease operations in 2021 and by 2026, be rehabilitated to a state in which it could be incorporated into the surrounding Kakadu National Park. A trio of new Hub projects in and around the mine are informing mine closure and rehabilitation. Two projects, led by Professor Lindsay Hutley and Associate Professor Dave Crook of Charles Darwin University (CDU), are examining the potential effects of salty mine waste water on the trees and fish of nearby Magela Creek. The third project, led by Professor Alan Andersen of CDU, is setting benchmarks for which animals – vertebrates and invertebrates – should be present at the site if rehabilitation is successful. All three of these projects will inform the mine closure criteria for successful ecosystem restoration at the mine, and guide ongoing monitoring activities.
The Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory, photo Dr Mike Saynor, Supervising Scientist Branch (Commonwealth of Australia).