The Mount Todd mine was a gold deposit, located about 50km north of Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia. It was mined from 1993 to 2000, touted as a "a world-class gold mine with significant development and exploration potential"[1] until General Gold Resources, who operated the mine, went into receivership. Once considered • It is estimated that the cost of the long-term rehabilitation will be in the order of tens of millions of dollars. However, the previous CLP Government set a bond of only $900,000. That money has already been spent on water management since 2001.
• The NT Government will spend up to five million dollars for containment works, which are to be completed this year. • The waste rock dump and the heap leach stockpile which remain on the site are sources of acid rock drainage. This occurs when rain water drains through the rock forming acid which liberates copper and other trace metals. If the contaminated drainage is not controlled, it can run-off into the river systems, causing widespread environmental damage. • Since closure of the mine, the heap leach stockpile and its surrounding dam have eroded and it is now necessary to reshape the stockpile and restore the dam and its water pumping system. • Water pumping systems for the containment of waste rock run-off will also be renewed. • New water monitoring equipment will also be installed on site and near the Edith River and site security will be upgraded. • Cyanide which had been stored on the site was completely neutralised under Government supervision in early 2005. • Because of existing degradation of the site, there may be some metals which are now outside the containment works that could be ‘remobilised’ in the first flush at the start of the 2005-06 wet season. • The final rehabilitation plan will be based on baseline studies, engineering design studies, mapping and research which will be conducted over the next 3 years. http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/7c/0c00877c.asp http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1214277.htm http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/nt/content/2003/s1135518.htm http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:DYIHc_RdVqMJ:www.nt.gov.au/dcm/ocm/media/2005/10%2520October/20051012_VatskalisMtToddStatement.pdf+%22mount+todd%22+katherine&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=au http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:dCHki-ufjmQJ:www.ncc.gov.au/document.asp%3FdocumentID%3D2994+%22mount+todd%22+katherine&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=au http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200510/s1494598.htm http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1452155.htm http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200510/s1493771.htm http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1293917.htm http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1283472.htm http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AILR/1996/68.html