Radium Hill, Former uranium mine and radioactive waste repository in South Australia.
Radium Hill is a former uranium mine in the outback of South Australia, made up of two separate areas: a closed extraction site and a storage facility for low-level radioactive waste. The site is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register and sits in a flat, dry landscape with visible remnants of past industrial activity.
The site came to attention in 1906 when prospector Arthur Smith found radioactive minerals, and geologist Douglas Mawson led Australia's first uranium extraction shortly after. Large-scale mining resumed after World War 2 and continued through the early 1960s before operations shut down.
During the mining years, a self-contained township grew around the site, with shops, a school, and housing for workers and their families. The remains of some of these structures are still visible and give a sense of how people lived and worked in this remote part of South Australia.
The site is in a remote, dry area, so it is worth preparing well before setting out. Because the area is monitored for radiation safety, visitors should check current access rules in advance and be aware that some zones may be off-limits.
The mineral davidite, found here, was named after geologist Sir Edgeworth David and turned out to contain both uranium and rare earth elements. At the time of its discovery, it was a newly identified mineral type not previously described anywhere else.
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