Antinuclear

Uranium mining might commence again at Ranger, Northern Territory

NT uranium mine gets future beyond 2021, Yahoo 7 Finance, 19 Sept 13  The Northern Territory’s Ranger uranium mine has unveiled a new water processing machine it says will prolong its future beyond a planned 2021 closure. Mining has been completed at the site, which is located within but is not a part of the world heritage-listed Kakadu National Park. It’s operated by Energy Resources Australia (ERA), which is owned by Rio Tinto.

The $220 million brine concentrator unveiled on Thursday will improve the mine’s ability to treat water and progressively rehabilitate the site, which must be completed by 2026, when it must be of a standard to be reintegrated into Kakadu.

Previous attempts to treat water properly were either too small for requirements or unsuccessful, CEO Rob Atkinson said………

Although the Ranger mine is now only processing stockpiled ore as its open pits are slowly being backfilled, exploration for a possible underground mine is underway at a neighbouring site called Ranger 3 Deeps.

If feasible, mining could begin in 2015 but would only be able to operate for five years under the current lease agreement.

Mr Atkinson said it was too early to be talking about future negotiations with stakeholders such as the Jabiru community and the Mirarr people, the transitional owners of the land….. http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/nt-uranium-mine-gets-future-052217361.html

September 20, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business, Northern Territory, uranium