Tom Lynott, the manager of McArthur River station is attributed with identifying the valuable metals in the area as early as 1887.

[6] In November 1993, the McArthur River Project Agreement Ratification Act was passed by the Northern Territory Government and the mine was operational by 1995.

[9] On 22 January 2009 he approved the expansion, "subject to a further 10 days of evaluation by Indigenous groups and others", promising also to protect local species such as the sawfish and migratory birds.

[13] In 2013, the Northern Territory Government approved another $360 million expansion that would double its size and production, extending the life of the mine to 2038.

[16] The HYC ore body consists of an extremely fine dissemination of the valuable mineral grains intermeshed with the gangue.

After Mount Isa Mines successfully introduced the IsaMill, the fine grinding necessary for mineral liberation was available for McArthur River to be developed.

From here the purpose-built barge called MV Aburri operates a shuttle service from the loading facility to a point fifteen nautical miles offshore where the concentrate is transferred on to overseas bulk carriers.

An extreme risk of embankment failure, or "overtopping", of the spillway in the Tailings Storage Facility due to water volumes has also been identified, requiring immediate action.

Testing by the Northern Territory Government and the mine's consultant found that small species, including rainbow fish and bony bream, have been contaminated with lead above maximum-permitted concentrations, making them unsafe for human consumption.

[28] After claiming the fire had been brought under control, photos of smoke coming from the mine emerged again in March 2015, sparking an investigation by the Environment Protection Authority.

[31] In 2015, the Northern Territory Government threatened to close McArthur River Mine unless it improved its environmental practices and agreed to increase the size of the financial bond for the site's final remediation.

[32] Local Indigenous people and environmental groups continue to call for the mine's immediate closure and rehabilitation of the site.

Traditional owners then raised concerns over resulting erosion to acidic waste rock piles, however Glencore stated that the "stability and integrity of the dump had not been impacted".