Rum Jungle

The Rum Jungle uranium deposit in the Northern Territory, Australia was found in 1949. It is 65 kilometres south of Darwin on the East Finniss River.

In 1952 the Australian Government funded the setting up of a mine and treatment plant to provide uranium oxide concentrate to the UK-US Combined Development Agency under a contract which ran from 1953 to 1962. Rum Jungle was then the largest construction in the Northern Territory. The Government, through the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, was responsible for the mine, although management of it was on a contract basis by Territory Enterprises Pty Limited, a subsidiary of RioTinto. A town was built at Batchelor to accommodate the mining personnel, 8 km south of the mine.

The mine closed in 1971. The Government decided not to rehabilitate the mine site. This led to the mine becoming one of Australia's worst polluter owing to oxidation of sulphides by bacteria and the subsequent release of acid and metals into the East Finniss River. The 1500 mm annual rainfall coupled with the pyritic mineralisation in the area created ideal conditions for such oxidation.

From 1977 the Government provided funds to clean up the site. Work was not completed until 1991.