Nabarlek Uranium Mine
The Nabarlek Mine is a uranium mine in the Northern Territory of Australia which was productively worked only in 1979. The deposit sits within the Alligator Rivers Uranium Field approximately 62 kilometres (39 mi) northeast of Jabiru. It was discovered by Queensland Mines Limited in 1970 by following up an intense airborne radiometric anomaly.[1]
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Nabarlek Uranium Mine Location in Australia | |
| Location | Arnhem Land |
| Territory | Northern Territory |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 12°18′17.11″S 133°19′22.03″E |
| Production | |
| Products | Uranium |
| Production | 11,804 t |
| History | |
| Discovered | 1970 |
| Opened | 1979 (mill 1980) |
| Closed | 1979 (mill 1988) |
| Owner | |
| Company | Queensland Mines Limited |
History
The deposit was delineated by diamond drilling in 1970 and 1971. Open cut mining took place between June and October 1979 with the ore stockpiled for milling. 546,437 t of ore were mined at an average grade of 1.84% U3O8.[2] The mill commenced operation in June 1980 and ran until 1988, during which time 11,084 t U3O8 were produced. A survey in 2006 concluded that revegetation had failed. [3] Rehabilitation work is continuing.[4]
References
- Lally, J. & Bajwah, Z. (2006), Uranium Deposits of the NT, Report 20, Northern Territory Geological Survey, ISBN 0-7245-7107-8
- McKay, A.D. & Meiitis, Y. (2001), Australia's uranium resources, geology and development of deposits. (PDF), AGSO-Geoscience Australia, Mineral Resources Report 1, ISBN 0-642-46716-1, archived from the original (PDF) on October 2, 2012, retrieved July 17, 2009
- Bayliss, P; Bellairs, SM; Manning, J; et al. (2006), The impact of uncontrolled weeds on the rehabilitation success of Nabarlek uranium mine in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Proceedings of the 15th Australian Weeds Conference, pp. 305–308
- "Nabarlek uranium mine". Australian Government Department of Environment and Energy. Retrieved 2019-08-11.