Antinuclear

Ranger 3 Deeps cancellation should spell end of an ERA for uranium mining in Kakadu

Northern Territory and national environment groups have welcomed the announcement that a planned underground uranium mine in Kakadu – Energy Resources of Australia’s Ranger 3 Deeps project – has been cancelled.

“ERA’s move to abandon plans for an underground expansion at Ranger is an overdue acknowledgement that the underground mine plan lacked economic and environmental sense. It is also a significant step towards the end of uranium mining in Kakadu,” said Nuclear-Free campaigner Lauren Mellor.

Local and national environment groups have for long called for ERA and parent company Rio Tinto to commit to the rehabilitation of the Ranger site and have welcomed that ERA’s ASX announcement has now accepted it needs to secure adequate rehabilitation funding.

“We welcome the fact that ERA has sought an assurance from its parent company Rio Tinto that the required clean-up costs will come at the expense of the company and not the public,” said ACF spokesperson Dave Sweeney.

“ERA has lost around $1 billion on the under-performing Ranger project and has left its run too late in developing the Ranger 3 Deeps proposal – with the continuing low post-Fukushima commodity price the window for uranium mining at Ranger is closing and the operation has moved from dig up to clean up.”

The groups have called for all project applications and approvals to be withdrawn and for ERA to detail its closure and clean-up plan and costings.

*ERA ASX announcement available here: http://www.energyres.com.au/documents/Media_release_Ranger_3_Deeps_project_update.pdf

For further context and comment contact:

Lauren Mellor, Environment Centre NT on 0413 534 125

Dave Sweeney, Australian Conservation Foundation on 0408 317 812

June 12, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Northern Territory, uranium