The second-biggest shareholder in Energy Resources Australia has challenged Rio Tinto to put its 86.6 per cent stake on the market if it really sees no future in uranium mining at Jabiluka in the face of fierce opposition from traditional owners.

Willy Packer, who runs a $2 billion investment fund from Perth and owns almost 8 per cent of ERA, said Jabiluka was the best undeveloped uranium deposit in the world, an asset for all Australians as the world decarbonised and could deliver between $1.5 billion and$2 billion in royalties to traditional owners who might one day agree to mining.