Expansion of Roxby Downs
“Many of our food sources, traditional plants and trees are gone because of this mine. We worry for our water: it’s our main source of life. The mine causes many safety risks to our roads – transporting the uranium from the mine. It has stopped us from accessing our sacred sites and destroyed others. These can never be replaced. BHP never consulted me or my families, they select who they consult with. Many of our people have not had a voice. We want the mine stopped now, because it’s not good for anything.”
Eileen Wingfield, Kokatha elder
Mullaquana Project
There have been over 20 spills of radioactive solutions at the Beverly mine, the worst of which occurred in January 2002 when a pipe burst releasing 62,000 litres of contaminated water. In addition the public and independent scientific expertise have not been privy to critical data which would reveal actual contaminant mobility in groundwater at the Beverly mine site.
Internationally, especially in Eastern Europe, ISL mining techniques have left aquifers heavily polluted. No commercial acid leach mine in the USA has ever been given environmental approval because of the high risk of contamination.
from the FoE submission