Koongarra

Koongarra is an area of about 12.5 km in Northern Australia that is 30 km south of Ranger Rocks and 3 km east of Nourlangie Rocks in a valley that lies on the foothills of Mount Brockman in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory . The Koongarra area has one of the highest quality uranium deposits in the world.

landscape

The landscape in which the uranium deposit is located has a tropical climate, characterized by heavy rainfall. The water is slightly salty. The temperatures are 25 to 34 ° in January and 18 to 32 ° in July. The water level is around 2 to 3 meters below the landscape surface in summer and drops several meters in winter. According to a study in 2004, uranium anomalies were found in the groundwater of the Koongarra deposits and the nearby Ranger uranium mine . The landscape is characterized by open savannah with bushes; eucalyptus and melaleuca (Myrtaceae) grow and screw trees along the watercourses . The traditional landscape area was used by the Aborigines as a hunting and collecting area. The Koongarra deposit is located near the Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO - World Heritage of Humanity, and the Nourlangie Rock, which is a significant cultural and historical heritage of the Aborigines.

Uranium deposit

The ore body is located in the catchment area of Koongarra Creek , which flows into Nourlangie Creek and finally feeds the South Alligator River . The occurrence of this uranium deposit with its two high-quality uranium ore bodies with 0.8% and 0.3% uranium content is estimated at around 14,000 t of uranium oxide (measured as uranium (V, VI) oxide U ₃ O ₈ ). The plan was to produce 1,375 t of U ₃ 0 ₈ per year. The slightly less abundant occurrence is estimated at around 2,000 t uranium oxide at 0.3%; however, it is not part of the above mass calculation. The value of the uranium deposit was projected to be around AUD $ 5 billion in 2010 (around € 3.65 billion).

The deposit was discovered in 1969 by Noranda Australia Ltd , after which the prospect of mining changed several times. The Denison Australia Pty Ltd followed, although by then no mining was done. The Koongarra Pty Ltd , a subsidiary of the French Areva , was active since 1995. The Koongarra deposit was established in 2000 imposed a moratorium of five years. When the moratorium expired in May 2005, Koongarra Pty Ltd entered into negotiations with the owners, the Aborigines and the responsible Northern Land Council . According to the Commonwealth Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 , indigenous landowners have to consent to the mining of their land. The Aborigines want Koongarra, including Eastern Nourlangie Rock, to become part of Kakadu National Park.

After the Liberal Party lost the Northern Territory election to the Australian Labor Party in 2005, Environment Minister Peter Garrett supported the Aborigines in their cause. The Australian federal government under Julia Gillard has joined the decisions of the ALP-led government of the Northern Territory.

The Koongarra area has a reservation of use through a native title held by Jeffrey Lee , the last living Aborigine of the Djok from the tribe of the Aborigines of the Mirarr . Lee has offered the Northern Territory Government the transfer of ownership of Koongarra, subject to the fact that Koongarra will be incorporated into Kakadu National Park . If it were integrated into the national park, uranium mining would no longer be possible.