Kakadu National Park, 200kms east of Darwin in the Northern Territory, (see map) is a World Heritage Area and has been, ever since it was listed in 1981. It was listed for it's valuable and distinctive cultural and natural values. Kakadu's wetlands are home to many endangered or rare species of flora and fauna and also records the history of the Mirrar people, the natives of Kakadu, in rock and cave paintings.

In 1982 Energy Resources of Australia (ERA), a mining company started to mine at Jabiluka, which remains the main Uranium mine at Kakadu. The enivornmental impact on Kakadu if monstrous, and is detailed further below.

The classical extraction of uranium, and the one that is used at Jabiluka is as follows:

Firstly, the Uranium ore is crushed to a size finer than 19 millimetres, then it is mixed with water and grounded more. Then the resulting ore is thickened...