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MINERAL COUNCIL HAILS AUSTRALIAN GOVT'S URANIUM DECISION

Friday August 5, 2005, 10:48 am



CANBERRA, Aug 5 Asia Pulse - There is significant interest in uranium mining in the Northern Territory but the starting date of any new operation is still a few years away, according to a peak industry body.

The federal government yesterday declared the Northern Territory open to uranium mining, provided indigenous landowners approve and environmental standards are met.

Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Mitch Hooke said today companies could now begin to position themselves to take advantage of record prices in the global uranium market, of which Australia has about 20 per cent market share.

The NT Labor government is vehemently opposed to uranium mining but conceded the federal government has the power to allow new mines

Federal Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane said there was worldwide demand for uranium and it was not feasible to refuse the opportunity to develop a resource based on a political whim.

About a dozen companies are exploring for uranium in the resource-rich territory, which is home to some $12 billion worth of known uranium deposits.

Mr Hooke welcomed the policy shift as an appropriate signal to big business.

"Essentially it will give a clear message that Australia is in the business of mining and it's a nonsense to have artificial limits on the number of uranium mines," Mr Hooke told ABC radio.

Mr Hooke said it was difficult to say how many companies were looking to mine uranium in the NT but that there would be significant interest from local and offshore operations.

Some of these companies had already begun working with local indigenous communities on the assumption that approval might come to start new mines, he said.

"There's no question that there will be a lot of interest," he said.

"The market in uranium is very buoyant. Australia has vast reserves and a lot of those, to the best of our knowledge, are in the Northern Territory."

But Mr Hooke said it would take "a few years" before any new mines became operational.

"First of all, you've got to find, you've got to explore, then you've got to go through the rather exhaustive processes of tenement applications," he said.

Mr Hooke agreed companies may face an uphill battle to win public opinion given the controversial Ranger Mine's history of leaks and spills in a sector prone to a high degree of media scrutiny.

"I think that's a tough call on Ranger," he said.

"I think Ranger's performance historically has been very good - there've been the odd incidences here and there and they tend to be reported.

"I don't want to minimise the impact of any of those leaks or spills but I think they need to be put in perspective of the operations of the mine over many, many years."

ASIA PULSE
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