ERA launches legal action over decision not to renew lease for Jabiluka uranium mine near Kakadu

In short:

Energy Resources Australia has commenced legal proceedings following the decision to reject its application to extend its lease at the Jabiluka mine site.

The lease agreement for land near Kakadu National Park has met with strong opposition from Mirarr Traditional Owners since it was originally approved.

What’s next?

The company is seeking an interim injunction to stay the entry into force of the renewal decision.

Mining company Energy Resources Australia (ERA) has initiated legal proceedings against the Commonwealth and Northern Territory governments over their decision not to renew the lease for its Jabiluka uranium mine.

Surrounded by Kakadu National Park, the Jabiluka deposit is one of the largest and richest uranium deposits in the world.

ERA, majority owned by Rio Tinto, has leased the land since 1991 but has never mined or developed it.

Last month, the Northern Territory government rejected ERA’s application to extend its lease on the undeveloped uranium deposit for a further 10 years.

On Tuesday, ERA announced it had commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against the Commonwealth, federal Resources Minister Madeleine King, Northern Territory, Northern Territory Mining Minister Mark Monaghan and the Jabiluka Aboriginal Land Trust, seeking a judicial review of the renewal decision.

“ERA believes it was entitled to a lawful consideration of the renewal application and considers it was denied procedural fairness and natural justice in the decision-making process,” the company said in a statement.

“ERA also considers that the decisions were flawed in a number of other ways, including because they were unreasonable.”

The Jabiluka lease is due to expire on August 11, and the federal government has already announced it will formally absorb the land under Kakadu control.

ERA said it was “urgently” seeking an interim order to stop the renewal decision from coming into force.

In this matter, ERA will advocate for an independent committee of the board, which will include independent directors Rick Dennis, Ken Wyatt and Stuart Glenn.

ERA seeks to fund cleanup of Ranger uranium mine.(ABC News: Che Chorley)

Traditional Owners of the Mirarr Estate have for decades opposed potential mining of the Jabiluka deposit, located 275 kilometres east of Darwin.

The lease was originally signed in the 1980s, sparking a wave of protests from traditional owners.

During this time, from 1981 to 2021, ERA operated the nearby Ranger uranium mine — a decision that sparked protests in major Southern cities.

Thousands of people, including traditional owners of the Mirarr mine, protested against the Jabiluka mine in the 1990s.(Provided by: Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation)

The company is currently renovating the Ranger mine at a cost of more than $2.4 billion.

ERA was initially permitted to mine the Jabiluka deposit but decided to suspend operations due to significant opposition from the traditional owners of the Mirarr mine.