Beverley Uranium Mine
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Beverley Mine is
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
's third uranium mine and Australia's first operating
in-situ recovery In-situ leaching (ISL), also called in-situ recovery (ISR) or solution mining, is a mining process used to recover minerals such as copper and uranium through boreholes drilled into a deposit, '' in situ''. In-situ leach works by artificially d ...
mine. It is located in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
in the gazetted locality of Wooltana about 35 km from Lake Frome at the northern end of the
Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain ranges in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhab ...
. It officially opened in 2001. The original Beverley uranium deposit was discovered by one of Bill Siller's companies in 1969 and was named after his wife—Beverley Siller. The mine is owned and operated by Adelaide-based company Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd. Heathgate Resources is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Atomics. Beverley is a palaeochannel uranium deposit. The uranium mineralisation (mainly coffinite) is hosted by loose sands in the channel of a former river. The ore bearing horizon is now at a depth of about 100 to 150m. The deposit is estimated to contain 21,000 tonnes of
uranium oxide Uranium oxide is an oxide of the element uranium. The metal uranium forms several oxides: * Uranium dioxide or uranium(IV) oxide (UO2, the mineral uraninite or pitchblende) * Diuranium pentoxide or uranium(V) oxide (U2O5) * Uranium trioxide or ...
for a mine life of 15 to 30 years. Uranium is extracted by in-situ leaching, involving the injection of a fluid containing sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide into the ore-bearing permeable horizon to mobilise the uranium. The fluid is then recovered and uranium is extracted at a central plant using ion-exchange. The final concentrate is trucked to
Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...
and then shipped to international customers. In August 2008, Federal approval was given to Heathgate for a greater area to be accessed for mining in order for the pre-approved volume of material to be extracted from the mine. Between 1998 and 2007, Heathgate reported 57 spill incidents to Department of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA).Beverley Uranium Mine Spill Incident summary as reported by Heathgate Resources 1998-2003
, pir.sa.gov.au
Beverley Uranium Mine Spill Incident summary as reported by Heathgate Resources 2004-2007
, pir.sa.gov.au


Protesters awarded in Supreme Court

The project was protested against by the Australian anti-nuclear movement. A protest which occurred in May 2000 became the subject of public controversy and a protracted legal battle. The case was decided in the Supreme Court in 2010, after the
Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state government, state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the h ...
refused to settle on the matter. Ultimately, ten protesters were found to have been subjected to unnecessary force, including the use of batons and capsicum spray and nine adults were locked in a
shipping container A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated box design, corrugated b ...
. Among the detainees was a cameraman, who claimed he was detained in the container for three hours. Multiple charges of assault and false imprisonment were laid against the
South Australian Police South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Po ...
, and $724,550 was awarded to the plaintiffs by Supreme Court Justice Timothy Anderson in April 2010. The judge also criticised Treasurer Kevin Foley and Police Minister Michael Wright for making antagonistic comments about the case, including Foley referring to the plaintiffs as "a bunch of feral protesters." The judge also referred to the protesters' false imprisonment as "degrading" and a breach of human rights. One of the plaintiffs, Lucinda White told '' The Advertiser'' after the trial:
"People have a right not to be bashed, beaten and falsely imprisoned by police. We have a right to protest. I am absolutely stunned this sort of thing can happen in South Australia.”


Four Mile and Beverley North

In 2005, the Four Mile uranium deposit was discovered a few kilometres north-west of Beverley. The deposit is owned by Quasar Resources, (a 100% subsidiary of Heathgate), and Alliance Resources. Development of the deposit was approved in 2009. It is planned to do the final uranium extraction and concentrate production for Four Mile at the Beverley Plant. The mine borders on the protected Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary that has previously been subjected to uranium mining. Following unprecedented public pressure, the South Australian government announced on 22 July 2011 that steps would be taken to ban mining and exploration in Arkaroola. In 2009, additional deposits were discovered at Beverley North. Approval was granted to mine at Beverley North in 2011.Marsland-Smith, Dr A
"Heathgate Resources update"
''Slideshare.net'' 2013-11-26.


See also

* List of uranium mines * Sandstone uranium deposits *
Uranium mining in Australia Radioactive ores were first extracted in South Australia at Radium Hill in 1906 and Mount Gee#History, Mount Painter in 1911. 2,000 tons of ore were treated to recover radium for medical use. Several hundred kilograms of uranium were also prod ...


References

{{reflist


External links


Beverley Deposit Summary Report

Frome Embayment Palaeochannel Uranium - Beverley, Four Mile, Honeymoon, Goulds Dam, WarriorPrimary Industries and Resources South Australia - Beverley
Solution mines in Australia Mining in South Australia Far North (South Australia) Uranium mines in South Australia