WA has never had a commercial uranium mine; we’ve had state wide bans on uranium mining and federal restrictions on uranium mining and a long history of public opposition. After the 2007 state election the newly elected State Liberal Government lifted a long standing ban on uranium in WA.

Toro’s Wiluna Uranium Project is set to become Western Australia’s first ever uranium mine following final environment approvals granted in April 2013.

In many respects uranium mining is much the same as any other mining. Projects must have environmental approvals prior to commencing, and must comply with all environmental, safety and occupational health conditions applicable. Increasingly, these are governed by international standards, with external audits.

Protecting Western Australia’s environment is one of the State Government’s highest priorities. Before a company can explore or mine for uranium it must demonstrate to State and Federal agencies that it will manage the environment to the highest standard. Potential environmental impacts are carefully assessed and monitored by both State and Federal Government agencies throughout the uranium mining cycle.

Global warming and climate change is happening. As effects of our emissions lag decades behind the actual time we pumped the air with pollutants, we are already in worse danger than most people may realise. According to climate scientists, the level of greenhouse gases has already passed the danger level of 350 parts per million. Unless fossil fuel emissions are drastically reduced, humanity faces a growing risk of dangerous global warming, as human sources are amplified by natural feedback loops.

Coal mining, particularly surface mining, requires large areas of land to be temporarily disturbed. This raises a number of environmental challenges, including soil erosion, dust, noise and water pollution, and impacts on local biodiversity. Steps are taken in modern mining operations to minimise impacts on all aspects of the environment. By carefully pre-planning projects, implementing pollution control measures, monitoring the effects of mining and rehabilitating mined areas, the coal industry minimises the impact of its activities on the neighbouring community, the immediate environment and on long-term land capability.

Coal mining, the first step in the dirty lifecycle of coal, causes deforestation and releases toxic amounts of minerals and heavy metals into the soil and water. Coal mining’s effects persist for years after coal is removed.

The ‘information centre’ contains a number of documents and links that can help explain elements of the shale and tight gas industry in Western Australia.

Digging soil from the bottoms of lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water is called dredging. Dredges, which are mounted on floats, are used to do such work to deepen, widen, or straighten channels in rivers, harbors, or bays; to build dikes and levees; and to prepare foundations for bridges, lighthouses, and other structures. Dredging is also used to dig mineral deposits, diamonds, and marine life of commercial value from river bottoms and soils deposited by rivers. Power shovels are used to dig up dry land.

Dredging is the term given to digging, gathering, or pulling out material to deepen waterways, create harbours, channels, locks, docks and berths, desilt lakes and keep river entrances and approaches to boat ramps clear. The material removed during dredging can vary greatly and can be any combination of rocks, clays, silts or sands.