Rehabilitation at Ranger uranium mine continues
Rehabilitation at Ranger uranium mine continues
The Federal Government has issued a new rehabilitation authority to Energy Resources Australia (ERA) to continue rehabilitation activities at Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory. The authority will allow ERA, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), to progress a staged rehabilitation strategy that focuses upon adherence to objectives as stated in the authorisation to operate to allow the site to be returned to the Mirarr Traditional Owners. This strategy will be achieved through the application of best practice and the use of technology within a risk-based framework. ERA’s long-term vision is to return the disturbed area to a viable ecosystem in line with its obligations to its stakeholders and regulators and the expectations of the community. Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King comments on the authority. “This new authority means that ERA will be able to continue with its obligation to restore Ranger uranium mine to a condition similar to the surrounding Kakadu National Park,” she said. Mirrar Traditional Owners have worked closely with the Northern Land Council and ERA on a new land access agreement. Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy approved the agreement under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (Northern Territory). “I thank the Mirarr Traditional Owners, Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, Northern Land Council, ERA and Rio Tinto for their collaborative efforts in establishing this new authority and land access agreement,” she said. “We want to see rehabilitation completed and for the land to be returned to the Mirarr Traditional Owners.” Rehabilitation and closure planning began soon after the Ranger mine began producing uranium oxide in 1981. Operations at Ranger ceased after ERA failed to secure permission from the Mirarr Traditional Owners and the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation to continue mining the sire. ERA increased its estimated rehabilitation provision to $830m in 2019, a major increase from the $526m estimate recorded in 2017.
