Lake Way is located in Western Australia, 17 km south east of Wiluna, and 600 km north of Kalgoorlie. It was discovered in 1972, and the deposit is situated on an existing channel on the northern edge of the Lake Way salt lake.

Lake Way comprises about 4,000 tonnes of U3O8, grading at 0.9kgs/tonne or 0.087%; extraction of the Yeelirrie-like calcrete would be by using the carbonate leach-ion exchange method. Lake Way is a very shallow low-grade sedimentary deposit in a 1.5 metre thick seam averaging 4.5 metres below the surface, which would have been mined by a mosaic of small pits over some 9 square kilometres. Read more about the history of Lake Way.

In June 2000, researchers discovered areas of extreme radiation scattered around the former test site, unmarked and unfenced. Corroded 44 gallon drums and piles of windblown uranium ore lie on the shoreline. Out on the lake bed, ground level radiation levels as high as 70 times background were recorded at the area where the ore samples had been stored.

Angry members of Wiluna’s Aboriginal community fear they have been exposed to a health risk while living and hunting near the site. Coordinator for the Wiluna-based Marruwayura Aboriginal Corporation Steve Syred said until about seven years ago, 100-150 people were living at an old mission 3kms from the spot where researchers recorded high level radiation. The area has a number of used tracks on it and is a popular hunting area for Aboriginal people from Wiluna and the surrounding communities.

As a result of the Sunday Times running the story on the 20/08/2000, the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) sent radiation inspectors to the site the next day. Their press release, issued at the insistence of the Minister, put a soothing spin on the story, stating that on average the external radiation levels at Lake Way were below those on Perth’s coastal plain.

How they came to this meaningless conclusion is beside the point, since the real danger from this material comes from eating or inhaling radioactive particles that have been taken into the food chain over the last 20 years.

The DME has supported ANAWA's contention that the original site cleanup was inadequate. They have asked Normandy Mining (the present leaseholder) to immediately bury the material that had been found.

They appear to have missed the areas of greatest contamination however, so ANAWA will be pushing for a full radiation survey of the area. The last thing we need is for this to be swept under the carpet for another 16 years. The local people deserve to know what’s really out there.

Lake Way photo gallery

Lake Way in Brief

History of Lake Way
Detailed background to the proposal