Traditional owners and green groups have welcomed a decision by the operator of Kakadu's Ranger mine to hit pause on its expansion project due to uncertainty over the price of uranium.
In a statement to the ASX on Thursday, Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) announced "the Ranger 3 Deeps project will not proceed to Final Feasibility Study in the current operating environment".
The mine is located about 230km east of Darwin within the Kakadu National Park.
ERA blamed the decision in part on a sluggish uranium market that has not improved in line with expectations.
"Secondly, having finalised and considered the Prefeasibility Study, the economics of the project require operations beyond the current Ranger Authority, which expires in 2021," Thursday's statement said.
ERA has been in talks with traditional owners and the federal government about a possible extension of its licence to operate, and says it will continue to conserve funds until it knows more.
The Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation said on Thursday it was now time to consider the future of Kakadu post-mining.
The primary concern of the Mirarr traditional owners had always been the protection of the significant cultural heritage on their lands, particularly at Jabiluka, it said in a statement on Thursday.
"As repeatedly stated the Mirarr want to see the land at Jabiluka incorporated into Kakadu National Park in due course and permanently protected from mining."
ERA's announcement was welcomed by national and NT environment groups, which said it spelt the end for uranium mining in Kakadu.
"We welcome the fact that ERA has sought an assurance from its parent company Rio Tinto that the required clean-up costs will come at the expense of the company and not the public," Australian Conservation Foundation spokesman Dave Sweeney said.
Lauren Mellor from Environment Centre NT said it was an overdue acknowledgement that the underground mine plan lacked economic and environmental sense.
ERA, which is 68 percent owned by Rio Tinto, has previously indicated it would require a cash boost from the mining group to meet its remediation commitments if the project did not proceed.
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