Uranium mining in Australia Uranium mining in Australia Radioactive ores were first extracted at Radium Hill in 1906, and Mount Painter in South Australia in the 1930s, to recover radium for medical use. Several hundred kilograms of uranium were also produced. Of the world's proven estimated uranium reserves (5,404,000 tonnes), 31% are held in Australia (1,673,000 tonnes), ahead of the second largest, Kazakhstan (12.1% or 651,800 tonnes). In terms of production, Canada is the largest supplier to export markets, followed by Kazakhstan and Australia. Uranium mined in Australia is mainly for export. Australia exported 50,235 tonnes of uranium oxide concentrate in the five years
Uranium weakly radioactive, uranium is a toxic metal. Uranium is also a reproductive toxicant. Radiological effects are generally local because alpha radiation, the primary form of U decay, has a very short range, and will not penetrate skin. Alpha radiation from inhaled uranium has been demonstrated to cause lung cancer in exposed nuclear workers. Uranyl () ions, such as from uranium trioxide or uranyl nitrate and other hexavalent uranium compounds, have been shown to cause birth defects and immune system damage in laboratory animals. While the CDC has published one study that no human cancer has been seen as a result