Antinuclear

Northern Territory’s increased rainfall pattern hampering uranium mining

unstable pit wall conditions and the high rainfall level are considered to be the major factors affecting the decline of production volumes by the ERA.

Rainfalls hamper Uranium mine efficiency in Australia | Seer Press, 16 July 2010, Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) admits the high rainfall levels coupled with a slip of a pit wall have significantly hampered their production capacity. A subsidiary of the IO Tinto, ERA predicts a possible reduction of their volume of produce this year, the lowest ever in the past decade.Last year, a pit slip occurred in ERA’s Ranger Mine in Kakadu National Park denying the miner access to high grade ore. Yesterday’s full-year production volume is only around 4300 to 4700 tonnes of uranium, 18 percent lower compared to previous record of 5240 tonnes…………Both the continuing work on unstable pit wall conditions and the high rainfall level are considered to be the major factors affecting the decline of production volumes by the ERA. The high rainfall actually brings water pooling in the mine preventing miners from getting into the bottom of the mine pit………..With the reduced production volume, ERA is estimated receive an 8 million dollar profit decline for the first half of the year.

July 16, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change - global warming, Northern Territory, uranium | antinuclear, Australia, climate change, climate change - global warming, nuclear costs, uranium