ERA fails to secure Ranger Authority extension
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The end of mining at the Ranger uranium mine, in the Northern Territory, is in sight, after owner Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) failed to gain approval for an extension to the Ranger Authority.
The current Ranger Authority permitted mining and processing activities until January 2021 and allowed for access for rehabilitation activities until January 2026.
The Ranger mine had been fraught with difficulty, with operations suspended in December 2013, after a mixture of slurry moved outside the containment area, following the failure of a leach tank.
The mine was restarted in June 2014, after state and federal approvals were granted.
ERA in June abandoned plans for the Ranger 3 Deeps underground project, citing weak uranium prices. However, the miner had been hoping that an extension of the Ranger Authority would allow ERA to revisit the Ranger 3 Deeps project’s economics over time, when uranium prices recovered.
However, the company had been advised that the Mirarr Traditional Owners did not support an extension to the Ranger Authority.
ERA would undertake a review of its business in light of this decision, but would continue to process ore from existing stockpiles and undertake progressive rehabilitation activities at Ranger, while working with all the stakeholders to meet its obligations.
The uranium miner also warned of a possible impairment to the company’s bottom line as a result of the decision, but no firm numbers were given.
Comments
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation