Thursday, 27 September, 2007

ABC News Online

Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) has decided to go ahead with a pit expansion at its Ranger Uranium Mine that is surrounded by Kakadu National Park.

The move will extend mining at Ranger until 2012 and is expected to create 45 new permanent jobs.

ERA expects to spend $57 million on the expansion including money for new equipment and infrastructure.

The company has committed another $10 million for an immediate feasibility study into other expansion possibilities as well as ways of increasing production from the processing plant.

At the moment, much of the uranium from the site is being sold at prices set years before the current resource boom. But by increasing the size of the pit, the company will be able to take advantage of soaring uranium prices before it ceases all operations in 2020.

But Northern Territory environmentalists are not welcoming the announcement of the expansion fearing the impact on the world heritage listed Kakadu.

The Territory Environment Centre's Emma King says this means the creek and wetlands nearby could be badly affected in the future.

"We're concerned that as the pit expands the Majella Creek and the Kakadu wetlands downstream from Ranger will be impacted by the mine," she said.

"They've got ongoing problems with water management and the amount of flow-through in the pit, and they underestimated when the mine was established the amount of groundwater that would flow through the area, and there are real concerns about seepage."