The Key Knowledge Needs (KKNs) articulate the relevant knowledge required to ensure the rehabilitation of Ranger mine will achieve the environmental protection objectives set out in the Environmental Requirements of the Commonwealth of Australia for the Operation of the Ranger Uranium Mine.
Identified via an ecological risk assessment, the KKNs provide the basis upon which the Office of the Supervising Scientist determines its environmental research program.
The KKNs have been endorsed by the Alligator Rivers Region Technical Committee (ARRTC) and are revised and updated from time to time as research to answer KKNs is completed, and new knowledge needs arise. A formal amendment process, including review by ARRTC and the Ranger Minesite Technical Committee (MTC), has been developed to ensure that any changes to the KKNs are undertaken in consultation with all relevant stakeholders.
Scope
The KKNs originally encompassed the knowledge needs for all past, present and prospective uranium mining activities in the ARR. These include the rehabilitated Nabarlek mine and mines of the South Alligator Valley, Jabiluka and exploration sites. However, the focus at present remains firmly on the rehabilitation of Ranger uranium mine, in operation from 1981 to 2021, and this emphasis is reflected in the current endorsed set of KKNs.
The KKNs, and associated research projects, have been closely linked to the Ranger rehabilitation schedule to determine when the information will be required.
A consolidated list of KKNs was first published in 2017. The KKNs are revised periodically as they are modified or addressed. See below for the latest revision of the KKNs.