Ranger cleanup faces ‘blowouts’

URANIUM miner Energy Resources of Australia has warned it faces “material” blowouts in the $730m cost of cleaning up the Ranger mine in the Northern Territory.

Three months after first warning of possible problems with the cost and timing of the huge clean-up operation, ERA – majority owned by mining giant Rio Tinto – is still to put a final price on the rehabilitation work at Ranger, or say when it expects the work to be completed.

ERA said on Friday that it would update the market when the costs and schedule could be estimated, saying it was currently unable to quantify the additional cost “with an acceptable degree of confidence”.

“ERA remains committed to the successful rehabilitation of the Ranger Project Area in accordance with its environmental obligations,” the miner said.

ERA finished mining and processing at Ranger, which sits inside the Kakadu National Park, in January.

The mine produced more than 132,000 tonnes of uranium oxide over its 40-year life.