Kakadu crunch time

Kakadu crunch time

BY JIM GREEN

The future of the Jabiluka uranium mine in the Northern Territory may become clearer following meetings in coming weeks between Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) and its parent company, North Limited.

The main agenda item will be whether North will agree to ERA's request to provide $150 million to build a processing mill at the Jabiluka mine site. Market analysts say that North views Jabiluka as a liability and that the company is unwilling to finance a mill at the controversial mine in the middle of the Kakadu National Park.

A resources analyst, John Colnan, told the Sydney Morning Herald on April 7 that if anyone was willing to pay a reasonable price for ERA, North would sell it. ERA's share price has dropped from a high of $6.50 in October 1996 to its April 6 price of $2.01.

ERA may continue to push for permission from the traditional Mirrar owners to truck uranium ore from Jabiluka to the existing mill at the Ranger uranium mine site, 20 kilometres away.

The federal Labor spokesman for the environment, Senator Nick Bolkus, said if Labor won the next federal election it would "try any legal avenue possible to stop the mine from proceeding". Expect Labor's comments to become increasingly equivocal as the election approaches.

From GLW issue 401