The Union Reefs Project Gold Mine is approximately 12 km north of Pine Creek in the Northern Territory. The mine is developing two resources at Union Reefs (formerly Gandys Hill) by conventional open cut mining and processing methods. The proponents draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in September 1993 included aspects of mosquito borne disease that had been previously raised by the Department of Health and Community Services. In the EIS the proponent undertook to determine the baseline mosquito numbers for a minimum period of 12 months, in co-operation with the Medical Entomology Branch of the DH&CS.
Initial site inspection and a baseline monitoring program started on 19 December 1993. A brief follow up survey was conducted on 14 December 1994 to assess the impact of mining in the production of any new mosquito breeding sites or the exacerbation of pre-existing ones.
This report summarises the results of the first 12 months of baseline monitoring and discusses the implications of the mosquito species, their relative numbers and the spatial and temporal distribution of the mosquito species in the area.