Rio Tinto

Our stay in Nhulumbuy has given us a more understanding of the town, why the town is here, and where it’s future is headed when the mining ceases in 2030.

Between talking to residents and researching online, we left Nhulumbuy with a bit more knowledge of the town and also some concern for its future.

The Indigenous people of North East Arnhem Land have lived in this region for 50,000 years. The Traditional Owners are the Yolgnu people. Fun fact: Yothu Yindi come from this area.

During World War 11, approximately 4,000 personnel were stationed on the Gove Peninsula.

Nhulunbuy is a mining town. It was established by Swiss consortium Nabalco in 1963 on land leased from the Traditional Owners, the Yolgnu people.

Nabalco. which later changed its name to Alcan, had an agreement with the Commonwealth Government to mine the area for bauxite – the raw material of aluminium, which helps produce the world’s trains, cars and cans. Rio Tinto took over the Gove Operations mining lease in 2007.

In 2013, Rio Tinto announced it would be mothballing the refinery, and slashing its workforce, causing fear for the future, for the residents of Nhulunbuy and surrounding communities. A local that I spoke to said that ‘Rio Tinto came into the town and stuffed it all up’.

In the following year the town’s population of about 4,000 dropped by nearly half, and as businesses and supermarkets closed, and houses were left empty, the exodus began to take a toll on the mental health of those who stayed behind, according to the local doctors.

Rio Tinto is preparing to stop digging out bauxite by 2030.
The mine is still operating but the processing plant has now been shut down and has ceased operation and the refinery is slowly being dismantled, scrapped, stockpiled and ready to be shipped out.

There is no publicity or PR for Rio Tinto, no information boards or mine tours, only what you read online or learn from locals. We drove past and took photos of the refinery being dismantled and the stockpiles of scrap. Someone from the mine stopped and watched us while we took the photos and waited till we moved on.

Over its six decades, Gove Operations has generated thousands of jobs for the Territory. It is believed that the confidential Gove Agreement was worth around $700 million to the Yolgnu communities in mining royalties on whose land these haul trucks and conveyor belts run. When the mining operations end, so too will the royalties.

In spite of the millions received in mining royalties, Census data reveals East Arnhem Land is still one of the 10 most disadvantaged local government areas in Australia.

The ceasing of mining is likely to have impacts on community, business, government services and the broader Gove Peninsula. When the mining and related leases terminate or expire, the Traditional Owners of the Gove Peninsula will have full control of all the Gove Peninsula area.

Vast chunks of infrastructure could potentially depart, there are concerns the supermarket and bank could follow suit, despite assurances to the contrary. People are worried the hospital could be in danger. The NT government says it will assess what the “impact of Rio’s decision is on the future health demands of Nhulunbuy and the east Arnhem region”.

People also worry about what Rio Tinto will take away, because Nhulunbuy is a company town in almost everything but name. The power station, the port facilities, the warehouses, the fuel storage facilities and the airport all sit on Rio Tinto’s lease.

Nhulunbuy is a slightly surreal place, a piece of white real estate in black Australia. We drove down streets of neatly trimmed, green front lawns with boat trailers and 4WD’s in driveways.

The town’s population is predicted to slump by as much as half when all the Rio Tinto workers and their families leave.

The effects of the exodus are already being felt. Qantas, which is to cease its regional flights to and from Nhulunbuy’s airport, has put up its company-owned houses for sale. Qantas is halting its Darwin-Gove-Cairns route.

A large number of houses lie empty, and more will follow. Locals talk about a family spending $700,000 on a house that is suddenly worth $250,000. And the residents fear more changes to come, “If the Yolngu people come in, it will change things a lot around here. It’s 99% white at the moment … we’ll see the crime rate go through the roof, it’ll be like Alice Springs or Tennant Creek here.”

Another legacy left by the refinery is an environmental one. Conservationists worry over whether contaminated wetlands can be returned to a semi-natural state, as well as the risk of a dangerous spill of the caustic soda used by the plant.

The Central Arnhem Road is a long, dusty, corrugated road and the only road in and out of The Gove Peninsula and Nhulumbuy which is accessible to visitors.

A permit is required from the Northern Land Council to travel the Central Arnhem Road, for which there is no charge.
A visitor access permit from the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation is required to access recreational areas including beaches, and fees vary depending on length of permit. An additional camping permit and fee is required to camp in these areas.
A Liquor Permit is required to purchase or travel with alcohol, there is no fee, but there is a time limit on the permit.

The Yolngu are starting up some businesses to prepare them for the future. We passed by a sawmill and heard that there should be up to 20 staff working, but some days only a couple turn up as the rest go walkabout.

We spent 11 days in Nhulumbuy and we enjoyed a relaxing stay, fishing and exploring the area, and we feel privileged and glad that we had the opportunity to visit this extremely remote part of Australia that not many Australians get the opportunity to do.

Nhulumboy is a white mining town and the town’s future is unknown. We would like to remember it the way we saw it. The chances of us returning are remote.Read more