Groups go to court in Australia to block Yeelirrie uranium project

36 million tonnes of radioactive mine waste. A mine pit 9 kilometres long. Extinction of 11 species. Over 40 years of opposition by Traditional Owners. A name that means “place of death” in local language. This is the story of a uranium proposal, and a place called Yeelirrie.

The Yeelirrie uranium project is a uranium deposit located approximately 70 km southwest of Wiluna, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The name Yeelirrie is taken from the local sheep station and, in the local Aboriginal language, means "place of death". The proposed site is owned by BHP Billiton.

There is a proposal to mine other uranium deposits in the Wiluna area: the Lake Maitland, Centipede, Millipede and Lake Way uranium projects.

On July 3, the Conservation Council of Western Australia went to the Supreme Court with Tjiwarl Traditional Owners to stand up for country, to uphold environment laws, and to stop a toxic uranium proposal becoming a precedent for wildlife extinction across the state. More