Ranger mine heads toward full closure with rehabilitation costs to hit more than $800m
THE Northern Territory’s Ranger mine is counting the millions — more than $800 million to be be exact — to move the mine, which is surrounded by Kakadu National Park, towards full closure
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WHILE the Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten were in Jabiru this week offering up hundreds of millions of dollars for new Kakadu National Park tourism infrastructure, Energy Resources of Australia’s (ERA) Ranger mine is counting the millions to move the park mine towards full closure.
Ranger’s rehabilitation program will now cost $808 million – up $296 million on the initial $512 million.
The increase has been put down to costs that go with additional water treatment and infrastructure, revegetation requirements, higher site services and owner costs, and tailings transfer to pit three.
The Ranger uranium mine has been the lifeblood of Jabiru since the 1980s and, as the mine heads towards full closure, tourism has become the new focus for the township’s survival.
The Mirrar traditional owners of the region withdrew support for the mine’s operation beyond ERA’s January 2021 lease expiry and the company has an obligation to rehabilitate the site by 2026. Although mining has ceased at the site, ERA is still processing an existing limited stockpile of ore.
ERA produced 1999 tonnes of uranium oxide at Ranger in 2018.
Since the 1980s, Ranger has produced more than 126,000 tonnes of uranium oxide.
Parent company Rio Tinto owns about 68 per cent of ERA and says it will ensure ERA is in a position to meet the rehabilitation requirements of the Ranger project area.
It said ERA was reviewing all funding options and ERA and Rio Tinto were engaged in active discussions on various options to manage this process, including possible funding solutions.
It is expected that rehabilitation and funding plans will be completed by April this year.
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