Four years ago, geologists for Queensland Mines Ltd. came across a tiny plot of ground in Australia's remote northern Nabarlek region that turned out to be the richest uranium deposit in the world. Assuming that mining rights could easily be obtained from the aboriginal owners, the Australian company quickly signed contracts to sell $60 million worth of ore to Japanese firms. What the mining executives failed to take into account was the aborigines' reluctance to disturb the green ants who live near the site.
The ore, buried just beneath the sere landscape in easily accessible formations, is less than 200 yds....