Capping of Ranger open cut uranium mine

Ranger uranium mine open cut pit capped as part of ongoing site rehabilitation ABC Radio NT Country Hour By Daniel Fitzgerald 10 Mar 16 An open cut pit at the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory has been capped after 20 years of rehabilitation work.

Energy Resources Australia (ERA) began filling in Pit 1 after mining in the pit ceased in 1996, with work continuing intermittently around other activities at the site, which is surrounded by Kakadu National Park. AUDIO: Tim Eckersley speaks about rehabilitation works at ERA’s Ranger mine (ABC Rural)

Leftovers from the processing operations at the mine, known as tailings, were dumped into the large pit and left to settle. General manager of operations at the Ranger mine, Tim Eckersley said the tailings were a “sandy, muddy mixture so it has taken quite some years to consolidate.”………..

Since 2012 ERA said it had spent more than $400 million on rehabilitation works at the mine.

Environmental management of the mine site had been marred by several incidents in recent years.Last year, a fire on the site burnt into Kakadu National Park and threatened nearby Indigenous cultural sites.ERA avoided charges over a 2013 incident when 1,400 cubic metres of radioactive slurry was spilt after a tank collapsed.

The mine has an uncertain future after traditional owners said they would not support mining operations after the mining lease ended in 2021. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-09/disused-open-cut-pit-at-ranger-uranium-mine-capped-era/7221720