Portal:Nuclear Issues/Did you know

BHP Billiton operates the world's largest uranium mine in the South Australian desert. The mine currently extracts 42 million litres of water a day from the Great Artesian Basin, for which it pays nothing. When the mine was being established in the early 1980's, the mining consortium persuaded the government of the day to grant exemptions to the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988, the Development Act 1993, the Environmental Protection Act 1993, the Freedom of Information Act 1991, the Mining Act 1971 and the Natural Resources Act 2004 (which incorporates the Water Resources Act 1997). The company prefers not to comment on the deal.