AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION
MEDIA RELEASE
6 February 2013
6 February 2013
Historic day as Koongarra protected from uranium mining
CANBERRA: The Australian Conservation Foundation has warmly welcomed the introduction of federal legislation to permanently protect Koongarra, a distinct and special part of the Kakadu region, from the threat of uranium mining.
The legislation introduced today is to repeal the Koongarra Project Area Act – an Act created to allow uranium mining after Koongarra was excluded from Kakadu’s original boundaries in 1979. This makes it possible for Koongarra to be included in Kakadu.
“Today’s development is good news for Kakadu and a tribute to the tenacity and vision of Jeffrey Lee, the senior Djok Traditional Owner of Koongarra,” said ACF nuclear free campaigner Dave Sweeney in Canberra today.
“For years Jeffrey has wanted an end to the push for uranium mining on his country.
“He has taken his message from the corridors of Canberra to UNESCO headquarters in Paris and consistently called for the protection of his country.
“This legislation is a welcome acknowledgement of Jeffrey Lee’s efforts.”
Uranium mining has long been a source of conflict in Kakadu with Traditional Owners leading campaigns against mining proposals at Koongarra and Jabiluka.
“Uranium mining in Kakadu continues to generate headlines and heartache with mining company Energy Resources of Australia seeking federal approval to develop a controversial underground uranium mine at its existing Ranger site.”
Before the 2010 election the Federal Government promised to permanently protect Koongarra inside Kakadu National Park.
Contact: Dave Sweeney 0408 317 812, or media adviser Josh Meadows 0439 342 992
A written statement by Jeffrey Lee is below
Dave Sweeney
Nuclear Free Campaigner
Australian Conservation Foundation
Floor 1, 60 Leicester St, CARLTON VIC 3053, Australia
Ph +61 3 9345 1130 Mob +61 408 317 812 Fax +61 3 9345 1166
d.sweeney@acfonline.org.au
www.acfonline.org.au
Nuclear Free Campaigner
Australian Conservation Foundation
Floor 1, 60 Leicester St, CARLTON VIC 3053, Australia
Ph +61 3 9345 1130 Mob +61 408 317 812 Fax +61 3 9345 1166
d.sweeney@acfonline.org.au
www.acfonline.org.au
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Statement by Djok Senior Traditional Owner, Jeffrey Lee AM, 6 February 2013
This is a great day for me, my country and my culture. My mind is at peace now that I know that there will be no mining at Koongarra and that Djok lands will be protected forever in Kakadu National Park.
My mothers and grandmothers who taught me about the plants and animals, my uncles and aunties who shared their knowledge, to all the elders and my creation ancestors – I give my humble respect for standing here today.
I have said no to uranium mining at Koongarra because I believe that the land and my cultural beliefs are more important than mining and money. Money comes and goes, but the land is always here, it always stays if we look after it and it will look after us.
So many people have helped me along the way. Firstly, I want to thank the Minister for the Environment, Tony Burke, for his determination to see this finally done. I also want to thank the Mirarr people and especially the senior traditional owner, Yvonne Margarula, and the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation. They have stood by me and showed me that Aboriginal people can say no. I hope that one day Kakadu National Park will be truly complete with the Mirarr lands at Ranger and Jabiluka included in the national park.
There are too many people to thank. Special thanks to my family Stephen, Jacqui & Mai Katona; Dave Lindner, Ian Conroy, Tony Heenan & my Kakadu friends; Gareth Lewis, Richard Ledgar, Rian Rombouts; Dave Sweeney and Justin O’Brien, Clare and Darcy Henderson, Peter Garrett, Trish Crossin, Peter Wellings, Chris Haynes, Peter Cochrane, Clare Martin, the Northern Land Council, The Greens, The Australian Democrats, the NT Environment Centre and Larry and Gabrielle O’Loughlin. I also thank those people in the early days from the 1970s who also offered their support.
I thank the journalists and film makers who took the time to listen to my story and then told it so that others could hear. To all the Aboriginal people from Australia and Indigenous peoples from overseas that have supported me and to all those that go on to fight for your own rights – I thank you. All the people that have written to me from cross Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, Italy and other parts of the world – thank you.
To all the people who I have not met and who I know are out there helping others to stand up and say no, I thank you because you have always been there. I sincerely thank the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for respecting the values of my country and culture and to the Australian and Northern Territory governments for supporting the inclusion of the Koongarra area into Kakadu National Park.
This has been a very long and difficult struggle for me. I have gone through a lot of trouble and heartache and waited a long time to see this day. However, the fact that I am here today proves that if you are true to your culture and to your land one day you will win.
More info on Ranger:
ERA closes down its Ranger open cut uranium mine
December 28, 2012
Open cut operations cease at Ranger uranium mine, Australian Mining 11 December, 2012 Cole Latimer Energy Resources of Australia’s Ranger uranium mine has finally stopped open cut mining, after three decades of operation.
It comes as the mine further explores its underground Ranger 3 Deeps project after receiving approvals for a prefeasibility study earlier this year.
ERA is now backfilling its Three Deeps pit after it extracted the last of the ore from Pit 3 in the last week of November, several weeks ahead of schedule, the company says….
It comes as the mine further explores its underground Ranger 3 Deeps project after receiving approvals for a prefeasibility study earlier this year.
ERA is now backfilling its Three Deeps pit after it extracted the last of the ore from Pit 3 in the last week of November, several weeks ahead of schedule, the company says….
30 years of radioactive water collected at Ranger uranium mine
December 28, 2012
Mine equipment transport to disrupt weekend travellers ABC Radio 105.7 Darwin, By Clare Rawlinson , 8 Nov 12 Energy Resources Australia has asked for motorists’ patience as the uranium miner prepares to transport heavy equipment from Darwin to Jabiru at speeds of 30kmph this weekend.
ERA chief executive Rob Atkinson said the company would use police escort down the Stuart Hwy and Kakadu Hwy over two days of travel. The equipment will be used in a new $220m “brine concentrator” – a machine being built at the Jabiru Ranger Uranium Mine to treat 30 years of contaminated waste water… (more…)
ERA chief executive Rob Atkinson said the company would use police escort down the Stuart Hwy and Kakadu Hwy over two days of travel. The equipment will be used in a new $220m “brine concentrator” – a machine being built at the Jabiru Ranger Uranium Mine to treat 30 years of contaminated waste water… (more…)
Continuing losses for ERA with Ranger uranium mne
June 24, 2012
Ranger uranium miner ERA predicts loss of up to $60m, BY: BARRY FITZGERALD The Australian June 20, 2012 RANGER uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia has flagged a $50 million to $60m loss for the first half.
The forecast loss by the listed Rio Tinto subsidiary was made by the company in presentation notes filed with the ASX ahead of a two-day tour by analysts of the Northern Territory mine….
.. Earlier this month, ERA approved $57m for expenditure on a study into the potential of the Ranger 3 Deeps mine. A decision on its viability is due in late
2014.
The forecast loss by the listed Rio Tinto subsidiary was made by the company in presentation notes filed with the ASX ahead of a two-day tour by analysts of the Northern Territory mine….
.. Earlier this month, ERA approved $57m for expenditure on a study into the potential of the Ranger 3 Deeps mine. A decision on its viability is due in late
2014.
With its share price collapse, ERA will shut down its Ranger uranium mine
April 28, 2012
Doncha love the headline from this Sydney Morning Herald article about the uranium company Energy Resources of Australia? Anyone would think that the company had wonderful prospects. But readthe lines (you don’t need to read between the lines) – and you see the true picture – colossal share price loss, closure of the Ranger open pit mine, and a laughable future prospect for their plan for an underground uranium mine.
From a share price of $18.22 in May 2009, the stock lost more than 90 per cent of its value to be languishing at $1.15 earlier this year, with the company’s future being seriously questioned.
Kakadu’s miner for all seasons SMH, Peter Ker April 28, 2012 After three decades as a major uranium producer in Australia’s top end, Atkinson’s company Energy Resources of Australia is about to fill in its massive open pit and return the landscape to something resembling the nearby Kakadu National Park.
In a reversal of the typical path taken by mining companies, ERA is about to go from producer to explorer, gambling its future on the viability of a deposit deep beneath its existing operations….
… ERA has spent the past 30 years digging uranium from a small province surrounded on all sides by Kakadu National Park. The company operates here at the grace of the indigenous community, which has long been reluctant to see any more of its land developed for mining. The NT’s extraordinary wet seasons add another
challenge,….. On more than one occasion, heavy rains halted production for months at a time and threatened [did!] to spill toxic tailings into the nearby environment. Other operational problems also caused delays, and they unfolded
against a backdrop of decline in the company’s flagship Ranger open pit, now reaching the end of its working life.
From a share price of $18.22 in May 2009, the stock lost more than 90 per cent of its value to be languishing at $1.15 earlier this year, with the company’s future being seriously questioned…… (more…)
From a share price of $18.22 in May 2009, the stock lost more than 90 per cent of its value to be languishing at $1.15 earlier this year, with the company’s future being seriously questioned.
Kakadu’s miner for all seasons SMH, Peter Ker April 28, 2012 After three decades as a major uranium producer in Australia’s top end, Atkinson’s company Energy Resources of Australia is about to fill in its massive open pit and return the landscape to something resembling the nearby Kakadu National Park.
In a reversal of the typical path taken by mining companies, ERA is about to go from producer to explorer, gambling its future on the viability of a deposit deep beneath its existing operations….
… ERA has spent the past 30 years digging uranium from a small province surrounded on all sides by Kakadu National Park. The company operates here at the grace of the indigenous community, which has long been reluctant to see any more of its land developed for mining. The NT’s extraordinary wet seasons add another
challenge,….. On more than one occasion, heavy rains halted production for months at a time and threatened [did!] to spill toxic tailings into the nearby environment. Other operational problems also caused delays, and they unfolded
against a backdrop of decline in the company’s flagship Ranger open pit, now reaching the end of its working life.
From a share price of $18.22 in May 2009, the stock lost more than 90 per cent of its value to be languishing at $1.15 earlier this year, with the company’s future being seriously questioned…… (more…)
But can ERA afford the costs of shutting down Ranger uranium mine?
April 28, 2012
Era adds A$251m to Ranger closure plan By: Esmarie Swanepoel, Mining Weekly, 11th April 2012 PERTH - The CEO of uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia (Era), Rob Atkinson on Wednesday told shareholders that the company had increased the provision for the closure of its Ranger mine, in the Northern Territory, from A$314-million to A$565-million, following a desktop review.
At the company’s annual general meeting, Atkinson said that the miner would continue investigating its closure plan during the remainder of 2012…… He noted that the revised plan would support a review of the rehabilitation cost estimate, later this year.
At the company’s annual general meeting, Atkinson said that the miner would continue investigating its closure plan during the remainder of 2012…… He noted that the revised plan would support a review of the rehabilitation cost estimate, later this year.
Quiet shutdown of Ranger uranium mine is on the cards
April 28, 2012
Spot Uranium Grafting, 9 News Finance, 13 April 12, ”………Activity in general remains sluggish, and while two transactions were reported last week in the term market they were both pretty small by term market standards…
..Energy Resources of Australia managed a 5% price increase over the quarter but remains in thebalance. The company has elected to spend $120m to explore the underground potential at its premier Ranger mine in the northern territory, known as the Ranger Deeps project.
If ERA decides the Deeps is not a commercially viable proposition, Ranger is destined to quietly shut down. Merrills suggests known reserves are unlikely to last beyond this year and stockpiles would be gone in 3-4 years.
Meanwhile, Merrills has ceased coverage of Extract Resources post takeover and its impending de-listing this week.
The broker has also taken the opportunity to review its uranium price forecasts to account for weaker Japanese demand now apparent one year after Fukushima. The analysts’ 2012 spot price forecast falls to US$56.25/lb from US$58.50/lb and 2013 to US$67.50/lb from US$70.00/lb. Merrills’ long term price drops to US$63.00/lb from US$65.00/lb. …
http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newscolumnists/greg/8449091/spot-uranium-grafting
..Energy Resources of Australia managed a 5% price increase over the quarter but remains in thebalance. The company has elected to spend $120m to explore the underground potential at its premier Ranger mine in the northern territory, known as the Ranger Deeps project.
If ERA decides the Deeps is not a commercially viable proposition, Ranger is destined to quietly shut down. Merrills suggests known reserves are unlikely to last beyond this year and stockpiles would be gone in 3-4 years.
Meanwhile, Merrills has ceased coverage of Extract Resources post takeover and its impending de-listing this week.
The broker has also taken the opportunity to review its uranium price forecasts to account for weaker Japanese demand now apparent one year after Fukushima. The analysts’ 2012 spot price forecast falls to US$56.25/lb from US$58.50/lb and 2013 to US$67.50/lb from US$70.00/lb. Merrills’ long term price drops to US$63.00/lb from US$65.00/lb. …
http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newscolumnists/greg/8449091/spot-uranium-grafting
The woes of Energy Resources of Australia leading to closure of Ranger uranium mine
April 28, 2012
ERA tightens 2012 guidance, Colin Jacoby , 10 April 2012 …The uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia reported production of 612 tonnes of uranium oxide for the March quarter, down 41% from its December 2011 quarter production of 1030t.. The company was dogged by high rainfall at Ranger and access to high-grade ore was restricted due to the water level in the pit.
With ERA unable to access the high-grade ore located at the bottom of the pit, the ore milled during the quarter was sourced from stockpiled material. … the company said 2012 production remained highly dependent on the level of rainfall for the remainder of the year.
“Much of that waste is stored in an overloaded tailings dam that continues to leak over 100,000 litres of contaminated water a day.” Continued Ms Beaton.
In recent years ERA’s controversial Ranger mine has been plagued by declining production, morale and profit, with operations severely impacted by severe weather events. The company is attempting to reverse this decline by moving away from open cut mining in favour of underground mining.
“ERA’s fortunes are in systemic decline and will not be turned around by a tunnel to nowhere,” said ACF nuclear campaigner Dave Sweeney. “In the shadow of Fukushima – which we know was fuelled by Australian uranium – we need an open assessment of the costs and consequences of the uranium trade, not piecemeal approvals of short term projects that generate long term risks and problems”. “Uranium mining is unclean and unsafe, and this industry remains contaminating and contested”. Concluded Mr. Sweeney.
With ERA unable to access the high-grade ore located at the bottom of the pit, the ore milled during the quarter was sourced from stockpiled material. … the company said 2012 production remained highly dependent on the level of rainfall for the remainder of the year.
Kakadu uranium miner faces growing criticism. ACF, 11 April 12, Mining at the troubled Ranger uranium operation in Kakadu has been described as dirty, dangerous and desperate by the Environment Centre NT and the Australian Conservation Foundation. The groups have used Energy Resources of Australia annual meeting today in Darwin to re-affirm their concerns about uranium mining inside the World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park.
”ERA’s open cut mine has seen over 150 leaks, spills and breaches; radioactive exposure to workers; mismanagement of water and a mine shutdown that resulted in a $150 million dollar loss last year. The mine continues to pose ongoing environmental risk to Kakadu and the creation of more unwanted and poorly managed radioactive waste,” said Environment Centre NT campaigner Cat Beaton.“Much of that waste is stored in an overloaded tailings dam that continues to leak over 100,000 litres of contaminated water a day.” Continued Ms Beaton.
In recent years ERA’s controversial Ranger mine has been plagued by declining production, morale and profit, with operations severely impacted by severe weather events. The company is attempting to reverse this decline by moving away from open cut mining in favour of underground mining.
“ERA’s fortunes are in systemic decline and will not be turned around by a tunnel to nowhere,” said ACF nuclear campaigner Dave Sweeney. “In the shadow of Fukushima – which we know was fuelled by Australian uranium – we need an open assessment of the costs and consequences of the uranium trade, not piecemeal approvals of short term projects that generate long term risks and problems”. “Uranium mining is unclean and unsafe, and this industry remains contaminating and contested”. Concluded Mr. Sweeney.
Ranger uranium mine in danger of floods
January 29, 2012
Australia’s ERA warns rains to hit uranium output again SYDNEY, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Energy Resources of Australia warned on Thursday that recent flooding caused by monsoon rains in northern Australia will continue to restrict its production of uranium in 2012.
Production at the company’s Ranger mine — which in previous years supplied as much as 10 percent of the world’s uranium — was halted by heavy rains in early in 2011 and did not resume until mid-June.
A second deluge in December that dumped record rains across parts of the tropical Northern Territory meant ERA would be unable to readily mine richer ores at the bottom of the lode, it said.
“As a result, access to the high grade ore located at the bottom of the pit will be delayed and is highly dependent on rainfall
experienced for the remainder of the 2011/2012 wet season,” said ERA, 68 percent owned by Rio Tinto but separately listed on the Australian bourse….. Analyst are expecting the company to show a loss on earnings before interest and tax of around A$61 million against a profit of A$68.4 million in 2010.
The stock has plummeted more than 80 percent in the last 12 months, in part due to negative sentiment toward uranium companies following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan last March…..
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL3E8CB8ZU20120111?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
Production at the company’s Ranger mine — which in previous years supplied as much as 10 percent of the world’s uranium — was halted by heavy rains in early in 2011 and did not resume until mid-June.
A second deluge in December that dumped record rains across parts of the tropical Northern Territory meant ERA would be unable to readily mine richer ores at the bottom of the lode, it said.
“As a result, access to the high grade ore located at the bottom of the pit will be delayed and is highly dependent on rainfall
experienced for the remainder of the 2011/2012 wet season,” said ERA, 68 percent owned by Rio Tinto but separately listed on the Australian bourse….. Analyst are expecting the company to show a loss on earnings before interest and tax of around A$61 million against a profit of A$68.4 million in 2010.
The stock has plummeted more than 80 percent in the last 12 months, in part due to negative sentiment toward uranium companies following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan last March…..
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL3E8CB8ZU20120111?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
Uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia desperate for shareholders to provide $500 million
October 16, 2011
ERA begging for $500m boost, The Age Barry FitzGerald October 13, 2011 THE fall from grace of Rio Tinto-controlled Energy Resources of Australia has become absolute, with the Ranger uranium miner going cap in hand to shareholders for $500 million in equity funding in a heavily discounted rights issue.
The 12-for-7 underwritten issue of new shares at $1.53 a share represents a near 30 per cent discount on ERA’s share price before the stock went into a trading halt. The funds will go a long way to overcoming ERA’s water-handling issues, as well as funding potential mine life-extending activities….. Rio is also to act as sub-underwriter to the equity raising. Should that role be fully utilised, its holding in ERA could increase to 82 per cent, reducing liquidity in what is an already thinly traded stock.
ERA has been producing uranium at Ranger for 30 years and is only the second mine in the world to have produced more than 100,000 tonnes of uranium. But its shares have been in free fall for the past 12 months on the realisation that despite the long production history, it has not been on top of the environmental threat that a record big wet in Kakadu poses.
The build-up of water around the mine and in its pits forced the decision in January to suspend processing operations as a ”precautionary measure” to ensure levels in the operation’s tailings storage dam remained below the authorised limit. More rain forced a further suspension to late July…..
Rio’s decision to back ERA’s equity raising suggests Rio is confident that ERA’s Jabiluka deposit near Ranger might one day be developed.
Jabiluka is one of the biggest undeveloped uranium deposits in the world but its development is being vetoed by traditional owners. http://www.theage.com.au/business/era-begging-for-500m-boost-20111012-1ll13.html#ixzz1ahltBWq2
Read all the above at great web site
http://uranium-news.com/category/mines/ranger/:
ERA has been producing uranium at Ranger for 30 years and is only the second mine in the world to have produced more than 100,000 tonnes of uranium. But its shares have been in free fall for the past 12 months on the realisation that despite the long production history, it has not been on top of the environmental threat that a record big wet in Kakadu poses.
The build-up of water around the mine and in its pits forced the decision in January to suspend processing operations as a ”precautionary measure” to ensure levels in the operation’s tailings storage dam remained below the authorised limit. More rain forced a further suspension to late July…..
Rio’s decision to back ERA’s equity raising suggests Rio is confident that ERA’s Jabiluka deposit near Ranger might one day be developed.
Jabiluka is one of the biggest undeveloped uranium deposits in the world but its development is being vetoed by traditional owners. http://www.theage.com.au/business/era-begging-for-500m-boost-20111012-1ll13.html#ixzz1ahltBWq2
Read all the above at great web site
http://uranium-news.com/category/mines/ranger/:
ERA closes down its Ranger open cut uranium mine
December 28, 201230 years of radioactive water collected at Ranger uranium mine
December 28, 2012Continuing losses for ERA with Ranger uranium mne
June 24, 2012Quiet shutdown of Ranger uranium mine is on the cards
April 28, 2012Ranger uranium mine in danger of floods
January 29, 2012ERA’s Ranger uranium mine – inadequate radioactive waste water plan
July 9, 2011
Ranger uranium mine resulting in collapse of ERA’s share price
July 9, 2011Kakadu National Park will be under continued threat from radioactive spills from Ranger uranium mine
July 9, 2011Health monitoring needed for Aborigines near Ranger uranium mine
April 24, 2010
Uranium production falls at Ranger mine
April 14, 2010Australian environmental groups welcome government’s refusal to approve Yoro’s Wiluna uranium mining project
December 28, 2012Wiluna uranium mine project – a recipe for permanent toxic radioactive pollution
June 24, 2012
Toro Energy’s plan for Wiluna uranium mining – secretive, and lacking in several aspects
November 4, 2011Australia’s National Register of radiation doses does not count Northern Territory uranium workers
October 30, 2011Australia pays a high environmental and prestige cost, for its very minor uranium exporting industry
October 16, 2011
Uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia desperate for shareholders to provide $500 million
October 16, 2011Strong objections to Toro Energy’s plan to mine uranium at Wiluna, Western Australia
September 9, 2011Call to Australian government to make BHP address dangers of expanding Olympic Dam uranium mine
July 9, 2011Mirrar Aborignal people fight to save their land from uranium mining
April 9, 2011
2010 a year of slump for Australia’s uranium mining
February 7, 2011Autralian Aborigines want uranium mining to be banned
August 9, 2010
Rainfall patterns bad news for Northern Territory uranium mining
July 16, 2010Paladin uranium company slack on safety in Africa
September 26, 2009
New Australian uranium royalties bill will disadvantage aborigines
September 26, 2009Uranium mining areas more cancers, child deformities
August 7, 2009
