Antinuclear

Perilous finances leading Rio Tinto to close Rossing uranium mine

“The situation is bad,” the source said. The source said Rio Tinto, the Australia-based majority owner of the mine, has also been considering selling the mine.

Namibia: Rössing Nearly Closed   http://allafrica.com/stories/201305300555.html  BY CHAMWE KAIRA, 30 MAY 2013

THE management of Rio Tinto’s Rössing mine was considering placing the uranium mine on care and maintenance like Areva’s Trekkopje as a way of arresting the perilous financial situation the company is facing.

Care and maintenance is a term used in the mining industry to describe processes and conditions on a closed mine site where there is potential to recommence operations at a later date. During a care and maintenance phase, production is stopped but the site is managed to ensure it remains in a safe and stable condition.

The French energy group Areva said in October last year that it had delayed the start of its US$1 billion Trekkopje uranium mine in the Erongo Region until market conditions improve.
“Management toyed with the idea of care and maintenance but realised it was going to be a costly exercise,” a source familiar with Rössing’s current tight spot said in an interview. The source preferred to remain anonymous because of his current dealings with the company.

“The situation is bad,” the source said. The source said Rio Tinto, the Australia-based majority owner of the mine, has also been considering selling the mine.

Rössing has recently started looking for a new managing director to replace Chris Salisbury.
Salisbury is tipped to move back to Australia in a more senior position following a spate of resignations. Salisbury was in Namibia for about three years.

The next MD is tipped to come from the Rio Tinto Group as Namibian mining industry watchers doubt a local executive will be appointed despite the position being advertised in the Namibian media.

A source close to the Rossing board said although the board has been pushing for a Namibian to take up the position, this was highly unlikely as most senior, experienced and qualified Namibians have resigned from the company to work elsewhere.
“The processing manager has just left the company; it will be a challenge to find a candidate within the company, most senior guys have left,” the source said.

Approached for a comment on this, Rössing declined to comment. Salisbury himself could not be reached for a comment as he was said to have travelled to India.

“We are currently not in a position to answer your questions but we are planning a media meeting for next week in Swakopmund at which time we’ll provide an overview of the Rössing business,” said Alwyn Lubbe, Superintendent Corporate Communications at Rössing, on Wednesday. The questions sent to Rössing included ones about its retrenchment process.

Rössing said in March that it was going to lay off 276 workers starting in April. The company blamed the cutbacks on a persistent slump in the global uranium price and demand, and an operational loss of N$474 million last year.

Since the 2011 Japanese tsunami destroyed the Fukushima nuclear power station, 48 of Japan’s 50 reactors have been mothballed. This was a major contributor to the lower uranium demand and has resulted in the uranium price dropping by more than 36%, the company said at that time.

Rössing said the 276 redundant jobs consist of 21 management posts, 25 professional, 28 supervisory and 202 operational and maintenance posts. Rössing provides around 1 500 direct jobs.

June 1, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized