Australia So Much to See

Parts of the now park, including Gunlom and Coronation Hill, were referred to by the Jawoyn Aborigines as Buladjang (sickness country) - disturb the land and you will become very sick. The places known as sickness country correlated to the places where Uranium deposits were found. Buladjang is included in the Aboriginal Dreaming.

Thirteen mines operated in the South Alligator region from mid 1950s to mid 1960s, with Moline being outside of the present National Park. Initially the ore was milled away from the mines at places such as Moline and Rum Jungle.

By the mid 1950s, around 150 people were living in the South Alligator Uranium mining area.

See here for the story of living as a child in the South Alligator mine village in the 1950s.

Later small scale milling was undertaken in the valley at Rockhole Creek, producing numerous tailings deposits which were merely dumped on the ground with some dispersing into the South Alligator Creek during high flows. These were subsequently abandoned and no rehabilitative work was required. The mines remained unrehabilitated on a pastoral lease until the area was added to the Kakadu National Park in 1987. However, in 1986, much of the remaining tailings were transported to Moline for gold extraction, leaving only small tailings deposits behind.

Despite the suggestion to keep the old mill intact as a part of the Alligator Rivers Region's mining heritage, the only safe course was considered to be dismantling and burying it. This mill was buried 1.5 kilometres from its original setting, still deep in Kakadu National Park. This site and other sites where mining and treatment took place are still above the safety level for human habitation.

Uranium mining in areas bounded by Kakadu National Park

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The Ranger, Jabiluka and Koongarra uranium deposits within the Alligator Rivers Region are surrounded by the Kakadu National Park. This land was set aside for mining when the park was declared.

The Ranger mine, eight kilometres from Jabiru, is the only current Uranium mine in the area, being operated by Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA). Current ERA planning is for mining at Ranger to cease in 2012 with processing of stockpiled ore to continue until 2020. Mining here is by open cut.

Mining at Jabiluka ceased in 1999. The Ranger deposits are within the same lease area.

The Koongarra Mining lease, starting only three kilometres from the Nourlangie Rock Aboriginal rock painting galleries, was not included in the National Park due to the mining potential. The Koongarra Project Area was added to the Kakadu World Heritage Area by the World Heritage Committee on 27 June 2011 never to be mined.

Nabarlek is situated outside of and to the east of Kakadu National Park withinArnhem Land. Mining ceased at Nabarlek in 1980.

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