资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

Supervising Scientist’s Overview

2017-18 –was a busy and productive year for the Supervising Scientist Branch (SSB) with significant progress in a number of areas, and ongoing focus on the rehabilitation of the Ranger uranium mine.

Our environmental monitoring programs were successfully completed to the usual high standard and continue to show that people and the environment in the Alligator Rivers Region remain protected from the effects of uranium mining. Water quality in both Magela and Gulungul Creeks continues to improve compared to previous years, with no exceedances of the statutory water quality guidelines recorded in either creek during the reporting period. Our field monitoring team overcame some significant safety challenges associated with the increasing risk of crocodile attacks. However, in some cases this has driven advances in our monitoring techniques, such as the move from visual observation to videography methods for fish monitoring.

Our Revegetation and Landform team made significant progress in the development of leading-edge vegetation monitoring techniques using unmanned aerial vehicles. These techniques use hyperspectral cameras and laser scanners to measure a range of vegetation characteristics at a landscape-scale, capturing significantly more information than is possible with ground-based techniques. This technology will assist with the development of revegetation closure criteria, and provide the platform for monitoring to assess their achievement.

Progressive rehabilitation activities at Ranger mine continued through-out the year, including the backfill of Pit 1 and the transfer of mine tailings from the tailings storage facility to Pit 3. We worked closely with Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) and the regulatory agencies throughout the year, with a focus on tailings deposition in Pit 3. We commissioned an independent expert review of the process and are now contributing to the development of a new tailings deposition method that is expected to be implemented some time in 2018-19.

A key milestone in the rehabilitation process was the development and submission of ERA’s Ranger Mine Closure Plan. We completed an assessment of the draft Plan in July 2017 and provided feedback to ERA and other members of the Ranger Minesite Technical Committee. ERA subsequently published a revised version of the Plan on 5 June 2018, which was still under assessment at the end of the 2017-18 reporting period.

To support our assessment of the Ranger Mine Closure Plan, we are developing a series of Rehabilitation Standards that quantify the rehabilitation objectives for Ranger mine. These Standards are non-binding, but will form the basis of the Supervising Scientist’s advice on the closure criteria proposed by ERA and in time, on the success of rehabilitation. It is planned that the standards will be published at the same time as the Supervising Scientist’s Ranger Mine Closure Plan Assessment Report in the second half of 2018.

Reflecting our continued focus on mine rehabilitation, the membership of the Alligator Rivers Region Technical Committee (ARRTC) was reviewed to better align the Committee with rehabilitation-related requirements. We were fortunate to appoint a number of new members renowned for their expertise in each of their relative disciplines.

The SSB and ERA research programs are guided by a set of Key Knowledge Needs (KKNs) that are based upon a comprehensive risk assessment process. The KKNs were reviewed and consolidated during 2017-18, and projects aiming to address each of them have been scoped and scheduled. As the required research is completed and endorsed by ARRTC, the KKNs will be progressively closed-out.

To enhance the research and technical assessment capability within our Branch, we have established a network external collaborators. Long-term agreements have been put in place to help ensure that key research and assessment outcomes are delivered within required timeframes. This includes the Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation at the University of Queensland, the CSIRO and Charles Darwin University who is undertaking three Ranger-related projects through the National Environmental Science Program.

The peer review and external communication of our work remains a priority for the Branch. A number of staff presented at national and international forums and conferences throughout the year, with some staff contributing to the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by attending expert missions. Additionally, we participated in a number events hosted by the IAEA and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, met with officials from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the International Council on Monuments and Sites and conducted technical exchange meetings in Germany with Wismut GmbH which is undertaking the world’s largest uranium rehabilitation project. Locally, we once again hosted a stall at the Mahbilil Festival in Jabiru and continue to connect with local Aboriginal people through the staff at our Jabiru Field Station and ongoing engagement with the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation and the Northern Land Council.

Finally, I would like to thank all of the staff of SSB for their professionalism, dedication and hard work during 2017-18. Our achievements over the last year are a credit to all of them.

Keith Tayler
Supervising Scientist