ACF NEWS RELEASE 30th January 2001

NEWS | HONEYMOON | SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Federal Environment Minister Robert Hill is set to approve a controversial new uranium mine in South Australia tomorrow according to leading national environment group ACF.

The Honeymoon deposit, located about 80 kms from Broken Hill in the State's north east, plans to use the problematic acid in-situ leach (ISL) mining technique. This process is not used in any other developed nation because of serious groundwater pollution concerns.

"Senator Hill is set to make key recommendations on a project that uses an increasingly discredited technique to mine a highly dangerous mineral", said ACF campaigner David Noonan.

Evidence of the pollution impacts on groundwater by dumping of liquid wastes from trial mine operations at the Honeymoon site has been kept from public scrutiny by claims of commercial-in confidence by the company Southern Cross Resources and the South Australian Government.

The office of the SA Ombudsman is now hearing an Appeal by the Australian Conservation Foundation to force disclosure of groundwater monitoring and uranium reporting from the trial mine operations conducted at the Honeymoon site since 1998.

Some 30 000 cubic metres of radioactive liquid wastes from the trial mine have already been dumped into the regional groundwater reserve at Honeymoon without any rehabilitation of this pollution being required by either Government.

"The proposed Honeymoon uranium mine is a plan to pollute and will compromise environmental standards at a time when the international uranium price is at an historic low" said Dave Sweeney, ACF Anti Nuclear Coordinator.

"Proposed commercial operations that rely on dumping a radioactive sulphuric acid solution of heavy metals into groundwater fly in the face of strong public opposition to nuclear dumps of any sort in South Australia."

Contact: Dave Sweeney ACF Anti Nuclear Coordinator Ph 03-99266708;

Dr Gavin Mudd, Hydrogeologist, University of Queensland;

David Noonan ACF Campaign Officer Ph 08-82322566.

David Noonan, Australian Conservation Foundation 120 Wakefield St, ADELAIDE SA 5000, Australia
Ph +61 8 8232 2566 Fax +61 8 8232 2490 http://www.acfonline.org.au/