https://www.miningweekly.com

King introduces Bill to ensure Ranger rehabilitation

8th September 2022

By: Esmarie Iannucci

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Australasia

     

Font size: - +

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The federal government has introduced a Bill to Parliament to amend existing legislation to allow the government to oversee the clean-up of the Ranger uranium mine, in the Northern Territory, beyond 2026, and to ensure that owner Energy Resources Australia (ERA) completes rehabilitation.

Production at the Ranger mine, in the Northern Territory, ceased in January 2021, in accordance with the Ranger Authority, and ERA has been undertaking rehabilitation efforts since that time.

ERA earlier this year revealed that it would require a further A$1.06-billion to A$1.65-billion in capital expenditure to complete rehabilitation of the uranium project, after an independent review of the rehabilitation estimated a cost of between A$1.6-billion and A$2.2-billion for the project, compared with the 2019 cost estimates of A$973-million, while pushing back the completion of rehabilitation work to between the fourth quarter of 2027 and the fourth quarter of 2028.

ERA approached its largest three shareholders with an interim funding proposal to raise an initial A$300-million to fund the rehabilitation work until the end of 2023, however, major shareholder Rio Tinto was unwilling to take part in the scheme at the price suggested by ERA’s independent board committee (IBC).

Rio argued that further investment into the uranium company was unlikely to generate financial returns, given that the funding would be used for rehabilitation work, and that the offer price of any interim raising should reflect fair value to that expectation.

ERA’s IBC has engaged an independent valuation expert to determine the fair value of the company and the offer price for an interim entitlement offer, and will advise shareholders of this proposed offer once they have been determined, which is expected late in the third quarter.

Federal Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King said the Atomic Energy Amendment (Mine Rehabilitation and Closure) Bill 2022, introduced into the House of Representatives, was the first step to extending ERA’s authority to keep working on the rehabilitation until the work was complete.

“The Ranger mine must be restored to a condition similar to surrounding Kakadu National Park. For such an environmentally, culturally and historically important region, only the highest standard of rehabilitation will do,” King said.

“The Bill will also enable progressive closing out of the site so areas which have been rehabilitated can transition back to underlying Aboriginal land tenure. This will allow Ranger’s Mirarr Traditional Owners to get on Country as soon as it is safe to do so.”

King said that while rehabilitation was well advanced in some areas, it was apparent the full rehabilitation would extend beyond January 2026 when the existing regulatory arrangements end.

The Bill will ensure the regulatory framework is extended until the rehabilitation is complete.

Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said the Bill had the support of the Northern Land Council and Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation which represent the Mirarr Traditional Owners.

“Once this Bill is passed, I will be able to start negotiations on a new land access agreement with the Mirarr Traditional Owners,” Burney said.

“While a full handover is still some years away, this legislation will give both ERA and the Mirarr Traditional Owners a line of sight for the land’s eventual rehabilitation and return.

“Ranger’s rehabilitation is a priority for all parties and we all look forward to seeing Ranger being a world-class example of mine rehabilitation.”

Once the new law is in place, several other measures will then follow so that rehabilitation work can extend beyond 2026, including the establishment of a new Rehabilitation Authority, and negotiation of a new land access agreement.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

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?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION