Western Australia Maintains Uranium Mining Ban Despite Global Demand and India Export Deal

The West Australian government will maintain its ban on uranium mining, despite growing global demand and a landmark export deal with India.

The state's uranium policy, in place since Labor's election in 2017, allowed projects approved by the previous Liberal-National government to proceed, but banned all others.

None of those projects have reached production, with Deep Yellow's Mulga Rock, around 850 kilometres north-east of Perth, the only one still meeting the government's criteria.

Newly sworn-in Mines Minister Daniel Pastorelli has ruled out any change at first appearance at Kalgoorlie's Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum today.

It leaves South Australia as the only state actively producing and exporting uranium.

"We made an election commitment in 2017 — that is our position," he said.

"There were some projects with approvals in place when we came to government.

"They haven't gotten off the ground at this point in time.

The combination of domestic political opposition and a uranium price that fell as low as $US21/pound in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear disaster has made for a difficult road for would be Australian miners.

Conservation groups maintain the potential environmental impact outweighs any economic benefit.

Australian Conservation Foundation nuclear free campaigner Mia Pepper said history showed that uranium could not be mined safely in Australia.

"So Western Australia has got a very prudent and popular position, which is to ban uranium mining," she said.

But growing global demand, including the deal with the Modi government signed last month allowing uranium exports to India for the first time, have left the industry hopeful for change in WA.

Marnie Finlayson is managing director of DevEX Resources, which is exploring for uranium in the Northern Territory, and was one of only two female presenters at this year's Diggers and Dealers.

She said uranium mining will support jobs and economic growth.

"I do believe it will happen over time, and I think there has to be a growing emphasis on what it brings to those states that don't currently allow it," she said.

"There needs to be a more concerted effort around changing the sentiment around uranium mining and the benefits it will bring to those states."

Indian high commissioner to Australia Nagesh Singh said he would welcome a decision by the WA government to lift its ban on uranium mining.

"For us, we would like to see more and more supply … I am told by some experts that India is going to be perhaps the biggest market for uranium supplies," he said during a visit to Kalgoorlie last week.

"Of course, I can't dictate terms to the Australian government or the West Australian government, it's for them to decide, but it will be a very welcome step as far as we're concerned."

Western Australia's opposition has pledged to overturn the ban if elected in future.

But Australia's peak mining exploration body said the debate needed to shift beyond politics.

"We're still stuck on local politics," Association of Mining and Exploration Companies chief executive Warren Pearce said.

"We've got to get past that and recognise this can be done safely every day in Australia.

"There's no reason we shouldn't be doing this in WA, there's no reason we shouldn't be doing this in Queensland and there's lots of countries that need our support."

WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy chief executive Aaron Morey said uranium prices, which hit $US85/pound in June, had reached a point where mining in WA would be economically feasible.

"The price increases we have seen are sustainable," Mr Morey said.

"There has been a material increase in demand that will persist into the future, due to the renewed interest in nuclear energy, because it is clean, it is efficient, and it is reliable."

He said the resource represented a significant opportunity for WA.

"Other countries around the world aren't as blessed as we are with our renewable resources, and so for many countries, nuclear and uranium as an input is absolutely vital to their future," Mr Morey says.

"We do have world class deposits here in Western Australia, there is significant commercial interest in developing those deposits, and so we continue to work with the government to ensure they can proceed."