Unfinished Business Rehabilitating the Ranger uranium mine Australian Conservation Foundation Front cover. Ranger uranium mine. Photo. David Wall Below. Ranger uranium mine with Djidbidjidbi (Mt Brockman) in background. Photo. Dominic O'Brien This report was written by Rebecca Lawrence, a Research Affiliate with the Sydney Environment Institute and Dave Sweeney from the Australian Conservation Foundation. The background research to this report was funded by FORMAS, the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development. We appreciate the contributions from the Environmental Defenders Office, Environment Centre Northern Territory, Mineral Policy Institute and the anonymous peer reviewers of the 2018 Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) Mine Closure Plan. We acknowledge the Mirarr people as the Traditional Owners of the land where the Ranger mine is sited and their long-standing efforts to protect Country and culture. Unfinished Business: Rehabilitating the Ranger uranium mine Executive summary Four decades of imposed uranium mining The Ranger uranium mine is aiming for a and milling by Energy Resources of Australia rehabilitation standard never previously (ERA) and Rio Tinto is about to end at the attempted or achieved. This has drawn national Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu, leaving a and international attention and puts increased heavily impacted site that requires extensive pressure on the Australian and Northern Territory rehabilitation. Long contested by the governments, ERA and Rio Tinto to get this right. area’s Traditional Aboriginal Owners, the The outcome at Ranger is of critical importance to Mirarr people, the mine site is completely Rio Tinto’s international reputation as a responsible corporate citizen and the company’s wider social surrounded by the dual World Heritage- license to operate. listed Kakadu National Park. Importantly, hope for the success of the Rehabilitation of the Ranger uranium mine will be rehabilitation project is shared by a wide range complex and costly. It must meet both community of stakeholders. There is now a real chance to expectation and the mining company’s legal move from an operational history of contest to obligation to restore the site to a standard where a rehabilitation future of collaboration and co- it can be incorporated into the Kakadu World operation at Ranger. Heritage area. This report is an independent assessment of the Australia has a long history of sub-standard mine rehabilitation and mine closure process to date. closure and rehabilitation in the uranium and It explores some of the concerns and constraints wider mining sector, and there is a clear need surrounding the rehabilitation and makes for a better approach and outcome at Ranger. recommendations that seek to address these in order The challenge is how to rehabilitate the heavily to improve the chances of the successful closure and impacted mine and larger Ranger Project Area in rehabilitation of the Ranger Project Area. a way that reduces adverse impacts and provides confidence that the living and peopled landscape of Kakadu is best protected, now and into the future. In this report, we show how Australia’s largest national park is at long-term risk unless the clean- up of Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu is done comprehensively and effectively. We examine rehabilitation plans for the controversial mine site and identify significant data deficiencies, a lack of clarity around regulatory and governance frameworks and uncertainty over the adequacy of current and future financing — especially in relation to future site monitoring and mitigation works. 1 Recent archaeological work at Madjedbebe on Mirarr lands shows that people have been continuously living in the area for at least 65,000 years 2 Left. Simon Mudjandi, Rosie Mudjandi, May Nango Unfinished Business: Rehabilitating the Ranger uranium mine and Jaykuk Djandjomerr at Madjedbebe site. Photo. Glenn Campbell, The Age Contents Executive summary .................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Table of contents .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................5 History of Ranger uranium mine ........................................................................................................................ 6 Rehabilitation of the Ranger uranium mine ........................................................................................ 11 Key challenges: Environmental .............................................................................................................................17 Leaking tailings and contaminated groundwater ...............................................................17 Toxic contaminant mixtures ............................................................................................................................ 18 Risk of failed ecological restoration ...................................................................................................... 20 Landform instability ....................................................................................................................................................21 Climate change impacts and risks .......................................................................................................... 22 Lack of knowledge around key social and environmental risks ..................... 23 Key challenges: Governance and regulation .................................................................................... 27 Low benchmark for rehabilitation through weak closure criteria ................. 27 Lack of transparency and regulatory certainty ..................................................................... 27 Funding for rehabilitation, post-closure monitoring and remediation .........29 Independent monitoring .....................................................................................................................................29 Summary of recommendations ............................................................................................................................31 Glossary ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 32 3 Ranger is surrounded by Kakadu and must be rehabilitated to a World-Heritage standard 4 Unfinished Business: Rehabilitating the Ranger uranium mine Introduction Ranger is Australia’s longest running uranium And also ensure that: “(i) the tailings are physically mine and one of our most scrutinised and isolated from the environment for at least 10,000 years; contested resource operations. It has attracted (ii) any contaminants arising from the tailings will not this attention through a combination of factors result in any detrimental environmental impacts for at 5 relating to product, process and place. least 10,000 years;” The regulation of Ranger and its rehabilitation is As a product, uranium is the raw material for nuclear highly complex with many different actors across power and weapons and is directly linked to the creation diverse jurisdictions. It is primarily regulated of large volumes of radioactive waste. As a process, Ranger through Australian government power but with mine was imposed on the traditional lands of the Mirarr day-to-day operational oversight by the Northern people despite their clear opposition. As a place, Ranger is Territory government.6 It also has a stated aim to surrounded by Australia’s largest national park, Kakadu, address Aboriginal interests through the Northern and is required to be rehabilitated to a standard where it Land Council as advised by the Mirarr organisation, can be incorporated into this World Heritage-listed area. Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation. Kakadu is a truly unique region. It is one of less than 40 As mine closure approaches, this complex regulatory places around the world on UNESCO’s World Heritage environment makes transparency difficult. Civil register for both natural and cultural values. From the society organisations long sought the public release escarpment country and rainforests to the wetlands and of the Ranger Mine Closure Plan (MCP) developed tidal mudflats, Kakadu encompasses a precious natural by ERA. After many delays, the MCP was publicly heritage and protects ecosystems of outstanding value, released in June 2018. At the same time, the 1 diversity and beauty. The area known as the Ranger Supervising Scientist Bureau (SSB), the national Project Area is surrounded by the 20,000 hectare Kakadu monitoring and research agency charged with tracking National Park, and shares these remarkable attributes. any impacts of uranium mining on Kakadu, released Kakadu also contains some of the world’s oldest and most its MCP Assessment Report. important archaeological and art sites and is home to a This report, Unfinished Business: Rehabilitating the living cultural tradition and practice. Recent archaeological Ranger uranium mine examines the MCP and provides work at Madjedbebe on Mirarr lands shows people have an independent assessment of the rehabilitation and