Rodney Island facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Geography |
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|---|---|
| Location | Northern Australia |
| Coordinates | 11°53′20″S 143°06′29″E / 11.889°S 143.108°E |
| Administration | |
| State | Queensland |
Rodney Island is a small island located in Shelburne Bay. This bay is in far north Queensland, Australia. The island is only a few hundred meters north of Cape Grenville. This area is part of the Cape York Peninsula.
Rodney Island is also part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. This park helps protect the amazing coral reefs and marine life. The island is also included in the Cape York to Cape Grenville Islands Important Bird Area. This means it's a special place for birds.
Protecting Rodney Island
For many years, there was a worry about mining on Rodney Island. In the 1980s, companies wanted to dig up the sand dunes in Shelburne Bay. They were interested in a type of mining called silica sandmining. Silica sand is used to make things like glass and computer chips.
The Mining Plan
The mining plan would have been very big. It involved digging up and destroying two large sand dune systems. These dunes are natural hills made of sand. The plan also included building a huge port facility. This port would have been used to ship the mined sand from Shelburne Bay. It would have stretched from the eastern part of the bay, past Rodney Island, to deeper water offshore.
Public Concern and Studies
Many people were worried about what this mining would do to the environment. Their concerns helped start a special project. This project was called the Cape York Land Use Study. Both the state government of Queensland and the Australian federal government worked together on it.
The study took place between 1989 and 1998. Its main goal was to make good decisions about how to use the land on Cape York. They wanted to make sure that everyone's opinions were heard. They also looked at different ways the land could be used and what was most important for the area.
The Value of Silicon
The mining project in Shelburne Bay was planned to be very valuable. It was expected to bring in about $4,000 million to Australia each year. The plan was to mine 200,000 tonnes of pure silicon every year. This silicon was extremely pure, about 99.98 percent. This high purity made it very valuable.
