What happens after the mining ceases?
Uranium mines remain dangerous after closure. One of the enduring problems everywhere is the clean up afterwards. Mining companies rarely seems to save enough money for the task. US state agency representatives estimated in 2004 that an open pit copper mine in New Mexico would cost more than US$800m to clean up. In July 2005 Energy Resources Australia (ERA), operators of the NT’s Ranger mine, revealed in their half-yearly report that they had put aside just $41m to remediate the site which is surrounded by Kakadu National Park. ERA say it will cost closer to $176m to clean up the site when the mine closes in 2008, the rest may have to be met by the state. When Mary Kathleen mine in Queensland closed in 1982, it had produced about 3500 times more rock waste than it turned into yellowcake and left a massive conical hole 4km wide at the top and 250m deep. Shortages in the MK remediation fund meant that they took shortcuts when sealing in tailings. Instead of using clay, they used a combin
