Australia: Uranium mining to be banned at Indigenous site

Australia took steps on Saturday to ban mining at an Indigenous site surrounded by Kakadu National Park, which is home to one of the world's largest deposits of high-grade uranium.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the heritage-listed national park would be extended to include the Jabiluka site, which has long been in the sights of mining companies seeking to exploit it against the wishes of its Indigenous custodians, the Mirarr people.

The Jabiluka site drew particular attention in 2017 when archaeologists discovered a buried trove of stone axes and tools nearby, dating them at tens of thousands of years old.

What did Albanese say?

The prime minister said the planned extension of the park was in line with the wishes of the Mirarr.

"They were seeking a guarantee that there would never be uranium mining on their land," Albanese told supporters of his Labor Party in the eastern city of Sydney.

"This means there will never be mining at Jabiluka," he said.

He said the 2017 find was "proof of the extraordinary and enduring connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have had with our land," Albanese said.

"The Mirarr people have loved and cared for their land for more than 60,000 years. Our government will work with them to keep it safe for all time," he added.

The move comes after the opposition conservative Coalition recently unveiled plans to build nuclear power plants across the country if it wins the next election, overturning a 26-year nuclear ban.

Long battle for Jabiluka

The Jabiluka site became the focus of intense legal wrangling between the Mirarr people and mining companies after the uranium deposit was discovered there in the early 1970s.

In one notable protest in the late 1990s, the site was blockaded by the Mirarr people alongside the celebrated rock band Midnight Oil.

The Rio Tinto-controlled company Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) previously held mining leases at Jabiluka, which will now not be extended when they expire on August 11.

The move by the Australian government to protect Jabiluka comes after mining company Rio Tinto blew up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in Western Australia's Pilbara region in 2020.

The destruction of the shelters, though legal, drew condemnation from across the world and focused more scrutiny on the conservation of Indigenous sites in Australia.

The Kakadu National Park was featured in the popular 1986 Australian comedy film "Crocodile Dundee."

This article uses material from the AFP news agency.