The West Arnhem Shire Council says it expects 70 more contractors will lose their jobs at the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory now that the mine will not reopen until July.

The mine, inside Kakadu National Park, was supposed to start operating again this month but Energy Resources Australia (ERA) has extended its suspension of operations.

ERA says heavy rain during the wet season dumped too much water in its tailing dams and operating pit.

West Arnhem Shire councillor David Norton says he is concerned more people will be forced to leave Jabiru.

"This is a repeat of last March, when contractors were stood down after the pit was filled with water,'' he said.

Traditional owners of land used for uranium mining say poor environmental management means they are losing money as well as the use of their land because of the suspended operations at the mine.

ERA says it is being environmentally responsible by extending the suspension, which has been in place since January.

But Justin O'Brien, from the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, which represents traditional owners, says it also hurts vital social programs.

''Gundjeihmi has a major socio-economic development agenda, which we're funding out of mining royalties,'' he said.

''This economic overindulgence that's brought us to this point, this lack of planning for high wet seasons, lack of inclusion of climate change in the story, means that we will get less royalties.''

 

Share price

 

ERA held an annual general meeting in Darwin today.

Company chief Rob Atkinson says the 30 per cent slump in the company's share price since mid-March is not solely related to the nuclear disaster in Japan.

He says fears about the radiation leaks caused an initial knee-jerk reaction to sell out of the uranium sector.

"But unfortunately in ERA's case we've got production issues, which we are working through, which certainly impacts the share price as well," he said.

"While the incident in Japan would have had an immediate impact, in ERA's case I think it is more related to the production difficulties we're having at the current time."

Meanwhile, the Australian Conservation Federation (ACF) says ERA must abandon plans to expand its Ranger mining operation in Kakadu.

ACF spokesman Dave Sweeney says the plans are ludicrous, considering the company's track record.

"[ERA is] a mining company that is having its annual meeting and is telling its investors and shareholders that it can't mine and can't mill at its existing operations at Kakadu because of management problems, water problems and contamination problems and yet it is asking to expand," he said.

But Mr Atkinson says there is no risk of the tailings dam overflowing at the Ranger site.

"We are still well over a metre below the top of the tailings dam,'' he said.

''There is no risk whatsoever of it overflowing.

''This is really about managing to our legislative limit and we are working very hard to ensure we are underneath it at all times."