Eylandt

Manganese has been mined on Groote Eylandt since 1965. The dark ore stains the road between the mine and the dock where it is shipped to Japan and China for smelting steel. The island feels like a military base: everything is partitioned, signposted or cordoned off.

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The majority of the population on Groote is transient: miners fly in and out, sleep in small cabins or caravans, eat at the mess hall, and get bused to the mine. Others with managerial positions, live in houses that were built in the 60s and 70s. Asbestos-lined and air conditioned, as the sun sets you can see the glow from their TVs while, just above, bats circle looking for their prey.

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Interstice 2012