Rehabilitation of the Former Rum Jungle Mine Site

Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade

The Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade, the Proponent, proposes rehabilitation activities to address long-term environmental legacy issues at the former Rum Jungle mine site, including the satellite sites Mount Fitch and Mount Burton, located 6km north of Batchelor, Northern Territory.

The project requires assessment under the NT Environmental Assessment Act 1982 and is a 'controlled action' under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The project is being assessed at the level of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the bilateral agreement between the NT and Australian Governments. The relevant controlling provisions are:

• listed threatened species and communities (sections 18 and 18A)
• protection of the environment from nuclear actions (sections 21 and 22A).

Key steps and dates are listed below

• 17 March 2019 - NT EPA issued Terms of Reference for the preparation of the EIS
• 23 September 2019 - Proponent notified the NT EPA of alterations to the Proposal. The NT EPA considered that the altered Proposal has the potential to significantly impact the environment and it should continue to be assessed at the level of an EIS
• 12 November 2019 - NT EPA issued new Terms of Reference for the preparation of the EIS
• 25 January 2020 to 6 March 2020 - Draft EIS was on public exhibition
• 18 June 2020 - Supplement to the Draft EIS was received
• 9 August 2021 - Additional information was accepted
• 18 July 2022 - Additional information was accepted

Assessment of the proposal continues under the Environmental Assessment Act 1982 and bilateral agreement under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. However, due to the commencement of the Environment Protection Act 2019 on 28 June 2020, transitional arrangements for the assessment apply, including modified procedures and an environmental approval/refusal. The Supplement to the draft EIS and additional information are available to the public on the NT EPA's website for viewing only.