The Western Australia (WA) Conservation Council claimed that Canadian company Cameco’s application to mine uranium in the northern Goldfields is being opposed by traditional owners and locals.
Currently, the company’s plan is being evaluated by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for the uranium mine, which is located in the remote Northern Goldfields region of Western Australia, approximately 420km north of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, 70km south-west of Wiluna and 110km north-west of Leinster.
A similar proposal for the same project was approved by the EPA to BHP Billiton in 2010 prior to its sale to Cameco in 2012, reports ABC Local.
Western Australia Conservation Council campaigner Mia Pepper said: that the project requires a public inquiry.
"Yeelirrie in the traditional language means place of death which is a strong indication about local knowledge and there’s also white communities there that have opposed the project for over 40 years."
Cameco acquired the Yeelirrie uranium mine from BHP Billiton in 2012 for $452m.
The environmental approvals process for Yeelirrie mine started in Q4 2014. The Yeelirrie mine is a near-surface calcrete-style deposit, amenable to open pit mining techniques.
In addition to Yeelirrie, Cameco owns Kintyre uranium mine in Western Australia.
Cameco also holds exploration tenements on a significant amount of prospective land in the western part of Arnhem Land, located approximately 250km east of Darwin in the Northern Territory.
