Uranium Mine Regulation and Remediation in Australia's Northern Territory

The Northern Territory of Australia (NT) has a long association with uranium mining extending back over 70 years. Although currently there is only one active mine, the Ranger Uranium Mine, owned and operated by Energy Resources of Australia, there is plenty of uranium-related activity with several on-going exploration operations and a number of remediated and legacy sites. The regulation of Ranger is complex as it involves both NT and Australian Federal Governments in addition to other significant stakeholders and consideration of exacting, site specific, administrative requirements. The paper describes the current regulatory systems for Ranger and the other uranium operations in the NT, including the recent changes to the remediation security bonding process and the concurrent introduction of a remediation levy on all aspects of the NT mining industry. The paper also reports briefly on the progress of remediation at some significant former uranium mine sites in the NT, including the major project at the former Rum Jungle mine site. (author)