Funding for the multibillion-dollar clean-up of the Ranger uranium mine, carved out of the Kakadu national park in the Northern Territory, has been thrown into limbo due to a corporate stoush over attempts to revive mining in the area.
Rio Tinto, the majority shareholder in Energy Resources Australia, which owns the tapped-out Ranger mine and the neighbouring Jabiluka deposit, says it wants to fund the clean-up of Ranger and will not develop Jabiluka without the consent of traditional owners. The Mirrar people, whose lands cover both mining leases, are adamantly opposed to any further mining.
