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The Beverley Uranium Mine, and the company set up to build and operate it, are the creations of American nuclear giant General Atomics. Founded in 1955 as a division of General Dynamics, General Atomics is deeply embedded in the American nuclear industry, specialising "in diversified research and development in energy, defense and other advanced technologies, many for environmentally sensitive applications."1 Heathgate Resources was formed in 1990 to pursue uranium mining activities in Australia, starting with Beverley.2 It is the first time GA have moved to develop their own uranium mining capacity, and their choice of locations - Australia - speaks volumes. The Beverley mine approved by the Federal Government would not have had a hope of approval in the US, where acid in-situ leach mining is forbidden and and groundwater rehabilitation must at least be attempted. Heathgate have played hardball with the local Traditional Owners, the Adnyamathanha people, and are very well versed with the ways the Australian environmental approvals process can be manipulated. Heathgate is now conducting exploration around the northern part of the highly prospective Lake Frome area not far from Beverley. With profits from Beverley slowly flowing, Heathgate is creating a little empire for the American nuclear industry to conduct operations that would never be allowed in the USA. Beverley
1. General Atomics website, http://www.ga.com/
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"Well there's
no need for any resolution. We're undertaking a normal business activity
here and we're doing it fully within the law after a full environmental
and other investigations in respect of getting our mining titles and
we're just going about our business."
James Graham (President) Level 3, 45 Grenfell
St,
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the Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western
Australia
email robin@anawa.org.au |
