A 25-year old geologist named Reg Sprigg conducted a geological survey at Radium Hill during 1944, the results of which indicated the potential for future uranium production.
The Radium Hill mine was closed in 1961 due to completion of the contract and not exhaustion of ore.
Historic legacies of Radium Hill
It was Australia’s first uranium mine, 1906.
In 1981 Radium Hill became the first Australian State Government gazetted low
level radioactive waste dumpsite.
The uranium ore was named ‘Davidite’ and the site ‘Radium Hill’, by Sir
Douglas Mawson, possibly the only such town site to be named by him.
In 1955 the Radium Hill Project was the first mining organization in Australia to take to court the matter of manning light air-leg mounted rock drills, to have one man to a machine. It was successful in the case and set a precedent for the
Australian mining industry.
It was the first time in the world that the boiling concentrated sulphuric acid
technique was used to further process Davidite uranium bearing ore.
At Radium Hill the heavy media milling process was used for separating hard
rock ore for the first time in Australia.
It was the first uranium mine in Australia to enter into an export agreement for
selling its product overseas.
The South Australian and Federal Government together with the mining industry
established the Australian Mineral Development Laboratories or AMDEL as it was known, to keep together the various science specialists associated with the exploration, mining and milling requirements of Radium Hill and subsequently the broader Australian mining community as a whole.
The pool of experts so gathered at AMDEL and the Mines Department prompted Sir Eric Rudd, together with Basil Lewis and Norman Shierlaw, to help form the Australian Mineral Foundation in Adelaide, which acts as a focus for the Australian mining industry.
A survey of former Radium Hill miners revealed that by 1987, 54 had died of lung cancer. It indicated a significant increase in the risk of contacting lung cancer when compared to the general population. The results of this survey by the Department of Community Medicine, Adelaide University and the South Australian Health Commission has led in part to the implementation of
regulations for safer working conditions in the uranium mines of today.
Radium Hill was one of the few South Australian Government projects that
made a profit.
Cheers
These are only my thoughts and it does not constitute investment advice. Before acting on any information you read and before making any financial or investment decisions, you should always consult your advisor(s) or other relevant professional experts.
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