A little metal sign is the only indication that something is awry in the scrubby bushland close to the exit for Litchfield National Park's well-known waterfalls.
Abandoning The Plan To Include The Mining Industry In The New Environmental Law
(Photo : Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)
The Rum Jungle uranium mine previously stood here, 100 kilometers south of Darwin, and supplied the Cold War nuclear programs of the United States and the United Kingdom.
But in the nearly 50 years after it shut down, Rum Jungle left behind environmental damage that will require hundreds of millions of dollars to repair over the following ten years.
The Northern Territory is home to several ancient, abandoned mines, the cleanup of which has cost taxpayers millions of dollars, as per ABC News
Rum Jungle is only one of these mines.
However, after the Northern Territory government abandoned efforts to tighten accountability requirements for mining firms, some worry that they won't be the last of the so-called legacy mines.
According to Kirsty Howey, co-director of the Environment Centre NT, Rum Jungle is just a harbinger of what we're looking down the barrel of here in the territory, in terms of legacy mines.
To make sure that even if an organization responsible for environmental damage were to become financially insolvent, someone other than the taxpayer - such as a parent company or director - would be held accountable, the NT government announced in 2021 that it would introduce a chain of responsibility laws.
But the government this year declared the legislation would apply to any operation capable of affecting the environment, including the larger mining industry, rather not just petroleum businesses, as suggested by a scientific inquiry into fracking.
However, a year later, the government's draft bill reveals that only petroleum businesses would be subject to the proposed legislation, which exclude all mining operations.
The Northern Land Council, which contends that Aboriginal landholders have historically borne the brunt of mining contamination, has expressed its displeasure with the government's change in policy.
In response to worries that taxpayers may be stuck with an estimated $100 million clean-up bill if Clive Palmer's nickel refinery failed, Queensland enacted its chain of responsibility laws in 2016.
Laws in Victoria also permit the transfer of environmental duties to related organizations.
Among them is a need that mining firms to give the government security bonds for the expected cost of restoration.
Additionally, mining corporations are required to pay a 1% annual charge on their securities, with the money going into a separate fund for handling legacy mines.
Read More: Does Bitcoin Mining Have a Disastrous Impact on the Environment?
Mining Industry's Environmental Impact
Mining is the process of removing valuable minerals and other geological materials from their deposits on Earth, as per World Atlas
By causing soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of surface water, groundwater, and soil, mining harms the ecosystem.
Sinkholes can also develop as a result of mining.
The health of the community residing at or close to the mining site may suffer as a result of chemical leaks from mining sites.
To ensure that the land being mined is finally restored to its original state, mining companies are sometimes required to follow environmental and rehabilitation regulations.
But these regulations are frequently broken.
Mining operations harm the quality of the air.
When mineral resources are exposed to the surface by mining, unrefined materials are liberated.
Such contaminants go airborne due to surrounding motor traffic and wind erosion.
These particles frequently contain harmful substances like lead, arsenic, cadmium, and others.
People who live close to the mining site may suffer health problems because of these contaminants.
Inhaling such airborne particles has the potential to cause allergies and respiratory diseases.
Along with metal poisoning, higher silt levels in streams, and acid mine drainage, mining also pollutes water.
The main sources of water contamination are waste-disposal locations, active or abandoned surface or haulage roads, tailing ponds, underground mines, processing industries, etc.
Siltation or the suffocation of stream beds is caused by sediments discharged after soil erosion.
It harms home water supply, swimming, fishing, irrigating, and other activities reliant on such bodies of water.
Aquatic flora and fauna as well as terrestrial species that depend on them for food are threatened by high levels of harmful substances in water bodies.
Related Article: War, Abuse, and Environmental Poisoning: The Legacy of the Rio Tinto Mine
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