Mount Fitch (Northern Territory)

Last updated

Mount Fitch
Location
Australia location map.svg
Schlaegel und Eisen nach DIN 21800.svg
Mount Fitch
Location in Australia
Location Rum Jungle [1]
Territory Northern Territory
Country Australia
Coordinates 12°56′55″S130°57′06″E / 12.94861°S 130.95167°E / -12.94861; 130.95167
Production
Products Uranium

Mount Fitch is a former uranium mining site located in the Northern Territory of Australia 56 kilometres SSE from the centre of Darwin and 13.4 kilometres NE from the town of Batchelor in the locality of Rum Jungle.

In 1950 two geologists, named Ward and Gates, discovered yellow secondary uranium minerals in limestone throughout the area. Radiometric contouring and geological mapping was completed later the same year. [2]

Mount Fitch was discovered in 1965 and is part of the old Rum Jungle workings. Compass Resources worked in the area for many years and mostly focused on the Browns deposit, a copper-cobalt-nickel deposit close to the old open pit. In 2006 some 4050 tonnes Uranium Oxide deposits remained at Mt Fitch. [3]

It is an ecologically sensitive area due to its very close proximity (1600 metres) to the catchment area of Darwin River, the river that is the source of Darwin's drinking water supply, Darwin River Dam.

Mount Fitch is located alongside the old Northern Railway corridor that ran from Pine Creek to Darwin.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protected areas of the Northern Territory</span>

The protected areas of the Northern Territory consists of protected areas managed by the governments of the Northern Territory and Australia and private organisations with a reported total area of 335,527 square kilometres (129,548 sq mi) being 24.8% of the total area of the Northern Territory of Australia.

Litchfield National Park, covering approximately 1500 km2, is near the township of Batchelor, 100 km south-west of Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia. Each year the park attracts over 260,000 visitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine Creek, Northern Territory</span> Town in the Northern Territory, Australia

Pine Creek is a small town in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, Australia. As at the 2021 Census there were 319 residents of Pine Creek, which is the fourth largest town between Darwin and Alice Springs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rum Jungle, Northern Territory</span> Town in the Northern Territory, Australia

Rum Jungle is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located about 105 kilometres south of Darwin on the East Branch of the Finniss River. It is the site of a uranium deposit, found in 1949, which has been mined.

Compass Resources NL is an Australian mining and mineral exploration company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and currently in voluntary administration since 29 January 2009.

Alpurrurulam, from the original Aboriginal name Ilperrelhelame, also known as Lake Nash, is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located in the territory's east about 1,206 kilometres (749 mi) south-east of the territory capital of Darwin and about 570.1 kilometres (354.2 mi) east of the municipal seat of Tennant Creek and about 17 kilometres (11 mi) from the border with the state of Queensland. The town is at the end of the Sandover Highway, which floods each year during the wet season and cuts all road access to the community.

Mount Fitch can refer to

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coomalie Shire</span> Local government area in the Northern Territory, Australia

The Coomalie Community Government Council is a local government area in Australia's Northern Territory, situated south of Darwin and Palmerston. The council governs an area of 2,056 km2 (794 sq mi). The shire had a population of 1,391 in June 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batchelor, Northern Territory</span> Town in the Northern Territory, Australia

Batchelor is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia. The town is the current seat and largest town of the Coomalie Shire local government area. It is located 98 kilometres (61 mi) south of the territory capital, Darwin. A number of residents commute to Darwin and its suburbs for work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Browns polymetallic ore deposit</span>

The Browns polymetallic ore deposit is a large ore deposit located at Mount Fitch, near Batchelor, 64 kilometres south of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Springs, Northern Territory</span> Suburb of Darwin, the Northern Territory, Australia

Howard Springs is a locality in the Northern Territory. It is 29 kilometres (18 mi) SE of the Darwin CBD. Its local government area is the Litchfield Municipality. The suburb is mostly a rural area, but has been experiencing strong growth in population and development. From 2020, it has housed a major quarantine facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uranium mining in Australia</span> Mining in Australia

Radioactive ores were first extracted in South Australia at Radium Hill in 1906 and Mount Painter in 1911. 2,000 tons of ore were treated to recover radium for medical use. Several hundred kilograms of uranium were also produced for use in ceramic glazes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daly River (Northern Territory)</span> River in Northern Territory, Australia

The Daly River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is part of the Daly Catchment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finniss River (Northern Territory)</span> River in Northern Territory, Australia

The Finniss River is a river south of Darwin, running west from the flank of Mount Minza, passing north of Litchfield National Park and flowing into the sea at Fog Bay. The East Branch of the Finniss was heavily polluted during the 1970s due to uranium mining at Rum Jungle mine about 105 km south of Darwin. The Finniss River Land Claim was presented to Judge John Toohey in 1981 but the former Rum Jungle mine site, contained within Area 4 of the Finniss River Land Claim (1981) was excluded from the grant to the Finniss River Land Trust due to the concerns of the Kungarakany and Warai peoples who are joint traditional Aboriginal owners of that area.

The Awarai (Warray) are an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory.

The Kungarakany people, also spelt Koongurrukuñ, Kungarrakany, Kungarakan and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory. They were called the "Paperbark People" by European settlers.

Mount Bundey is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located about 115 kilometres (71 mi) east of the territory capital of Darwin.

Micket Creek is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) east of the territory capital of Darwin.

Daly is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located about 51 kilometres (32 mi) south-east of the territory capital of Darwin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anmatjere, Northern Territory</span> Suburb of Barkly Region, the Northern Territory, Australia

Anmatjere is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located about 1,088 kilometres (676 mi) south of the territory capital of Darwin.

References

  1. ↑ "Place Names Register Extract for "Mount Fitch"". NT Place Names Register. Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  2. ↑ "Mt. Fitch Prospect, Rum Jungle, Northern Territory". Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  3. ↑ "Uranium Royalty (Northern Territory) Bill 2008". Bills Digest no. 79 2008–09. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 6 March 2017.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.