HOME / URANIUM & FUEL / WESTERN AUSTRALIANS SUPPORT LIFTING URANIUM BAN, POLL FINDS

Western Australians support lifting uranium ban, poll finds

Friday, 21 February 2025

With a new poll showing that the majority of West Australians support lifting the state's ban on uranium mining, Australia's national mining association is calling on the state's Labor Party to let voters know if it would consider overturning the ban if it retains power in the upcoming general election.

Western Australians support lifting uranium ban, poll finds — Exploration drilling at Kintyre, one of the four projects conditionally excluded from Western Australia's uranium ban (Image: Cameco Australia)

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) commissioned the poll, which was carried out by market research consultancy Painted Dog Research. Well over half - 57% - of the 806 respondents to the poll said they would like to see Western Australia's current ban on uranium mining, implemented in 2017, lifted. This is up from a 2023 industry poll that found 49% per cent in support of uranium mining.

Asked "Do you support uranium mining as a way of reducing the world's carbon emissions?" 58% of respondents said they did, while 15% expressed "little or no support". But awareness of Australia's long history of uranium mining was low, with only 54% saying they knew that uranium has been mined safely in Australia for more than 50 years.

AMEC CEO Warren Pearce said the poll demonstrates that West Australians can "see the value" in uranium mining and "points to a community understanding that WA is a mining state, with the professionalism and skill to deal with uranium mining in a safe and responsible way".

Western Australia (WA) has significant known uranium resources but the Labor-led government has banned uranium mining since 2017, with the exception of four uranium projects that had already received ministerial approval from the previous government: Wiluna, Kintyre, Mulga Rock and Yeelirrie. "Quite frankly, it's time for WA Labor to reconsider the current ban and move with the times," said Pearce.

Australia has double the uranium resources of Kazakhstan and Canada, Pearce said, but is only the fourth largest producer. Western Australia "has the potential to be the eighth largest uranium source in the world", he said. "It would create more jobs, attract investment, diversify the economy from iron ore and gold, and create a new billion dollar commodity export market.

"With job losses in the nickel and lithium sectors over the past 12 to 18 months, now is the perfect time to throw out the ban and look to add a new commodity to our mining mix."

The Western Australia general election is due to take place on 8 March. Respondents to the survey were aged over 18 and from both metropolitan and regional parts of Western Australia.