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.
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Mount Fitch Location in Australia | |
| Location | Rum Jungle[1] |
| Territory | Northern Territory |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 12°56′55″S 130°57′06″E / 12.94861°S 130.95167°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Uranium |
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.
References
edit- ^ "Place Names Register Extract for "Mount Fitch"". NT Place Names Register. Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ "Mt. Fitch Prospect, Rum Jungle, Northern Territory". Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ "Uranium Royalty (Northern Territory) Bill 2008". Bills Digest no. 79 2008–09. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
External links
edit- Mount Fitch Deposit Summary Report
- Rum Jungle - Whites, Dysons, Intermediate, Browns, Mount Burton, Mount Fitch
 | This Northern Territory geography article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
-crop.jpg){kind=small} | This article about a specific Australian geological feature is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |