The senior traditional owner of the site of a proposed uranium mine in Kakadu National Park has spoken out for the first time against the development, placing her at odds with pro-mining clans and the Northern Lands Council.

As principal spokeswoman of the land where Energy Resources Australia proposes to open the mine on a lease within the park, Ms Yvonne Margarula's strong opposition could end plans for the $8 billion Jabiluka project.

So far, uranium mining has won Ms Margarula, whose birthright gives her the duty to care for her country and speak on behalf of her 21 Aboriginal sisters of the Mirrar/Gundjehmi clan just $400 a year from the existing Ranger mine.

But Ms Margarula, who works in the laundry of an Aboriginal-owned tourist hotel, will not be bought by money. In an interview with the Weekend Australian, she blames alcolhol for the death of four of her family members in just two years and the mine for exacerbating those alcohol problems.

"I am also worried about the kids returning to school" Ms Margarula said. "They are not getting a good education and alcohol is the main problem."

Ms Margarula aslo said she was concerned to ensure that there would be no desercration of Aboriginal sacred sites near the proposed mine,degradition of the land or contamination of creeks and river systems killing of wildlife and her clans valuable food resources.

But the Northern Lands Council has warned minining could go ahead, despite protests from her, due to a legally binding agreement for the Jabiluka mine signed in 1982 by Ms Margarula's father, other traditional owners and the former mining company PanContinental

Ms Margarula, 35 questioned her father's execution of the original agreement and refuses to negotiate on her no-mining position. Her father has died and cannot be named due to Aboriginal custom.

Her objections have heightened tensions within the NLC, which indirectly receives $3 million in mining royalties,in its bid to represent the conflicting views of traditional owners.

The chairman of the council, Mr Galarrwuy Yunupingu said yesterday Ms Margarula was "the senior child born to the father who had responsibility to sign the agreement".

He said that although the council believed that the majority of the Aboriginal community wanted ther mine to go ahead, he would support an inquiry into the social impact of mining.

Speaking from the Ja Ja mining camp where the 1982 agreement was signed Ms Margarula called on the Federal Government to stall the mine until a Senate inquiry examined the social impact of uranium mining.

In the meantime, she has relied on the words of the Minister for Resources and Energy, Senator Parer who told the Kakadu board of management that the mine would not go ahead without the support of traditional owners.

ERA's Ranger mine manger Mr Ken Lonie has accepted the status of Ms Margarula as the sernior traditional owner but argued problems with alcohol were documented long before the mine opened.

"We acknowledge that there is an alcohol problem in the Aboriginal community but we don't believe that it is to do with the mine," Mr Lonie said. "We would like to work with Yvonne to find ways to address that."

Mr Lonie said that according to the federal watchdog, the Office of the Supervising Scientist, ERA had operated Ranger uranium in the park for 15 years without detriment to the environment outside the lease area.