MAPW's Northern Territory branch is supporting a public meeting on proposed uranium exploration at the Angela Pamela deposits, to be held Wednesday 7 May in Alice Springs.

The meeting will provide information on the implications of uranium exploration and mining, and discuss options for community response.

The keynote speaker will be Dr Gavin Mudd, civil engineering lecturer at Monash University.

Dr Mudd has active research interests in urban groundwater issues, groundwater management and assessment, especially with respect to climate change and sustainability. He has had extensive involvement in examining the underlying scientific issues associated with uranium mining in Australia, with detailed knowledge of the Australian uranium mining sector.

Other speakers include a representative from Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation, Dr Hilary Tyler from the Medical Association for the Prevention of War and Natalie Wasley from the Beyond Nuclear Initiative.

Public comments on the exploration license application are due at the end of May. These comments must be considered by the NT Mines Minister Chris Natt in deciding whether to grant the license.

The uranium deposits are situated 25 km south of Alice, within the town water catchment boundary and in close proximity to planned and existing bore fields for drinking water supplies.

MAPW member and meeting organiser Dr Tom Keaney notes that “The potential economic benefits of uranium mining can not be divorced from the risks of local contamination from radioactive materials, the catastrophic effects of nuclear reactor dysfunction, the production of radioactive waste or the potential for reprocessed Alice Springs uranium to end up in a nuclear warhead. These risks have clear local, regional and global implications”.

Contact :

Dr Gavin Mudd 0419 117 494
Natalie Wasley 0429 900 774
Jimmy Cocking 0423 511 931
Dr Tom Keaney 0406 557 35
Dr Hilary Tyler 0419 244 102