Case Study - Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (NT)

Energy Resources of Australia Ltd, winner of the 2008 Minerals and Energy Award Sponsored by the Minerals Council of Australia

Finalist:
1998 Minerals and Energy Award
1996 Minerals and Energy Award

Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA) is a specialist mining company which is currently producing approximately 11 per cent of the world's uranium oxide. The company's production comes entirely from the Ranger Uranium Mine, the world's second largest, in the Alligator River's region of the Northern Territory.

The uranium sold by ERA is used only for the generation of nuclear electricity under strict international safeguards monitored by the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

ERA only supplies uranium to countries that have signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and where there is a bilateral safeguards agreement in place with the Australian government.

The company is also committed to the principles of sustainable development which place an emphasis on managing the environmental and social aspects of its business, as well as the economic factors.

The safety and wellbeing of its employees is of the utmost importance to the company, as is its commitment to building robust and co-operative relationships with the Mirarr Traditional Owners of the Ranger site and the broader local community.

ERA pays 4.25 per cent of its revenue from Ranger to the Commonwealth as royalties. With approximately 500 full-time employees, almost 20 per cent of the Ranger workforce is represented by Indigenous people.

The company also promotes indirect employment opportunities, facilitates skill development and supports Indigenous business enterprises.

The mining town of Jabiru – now reclassified as an ‘open town’ – was constructed in 1982 with a contribution from ERA of AUD62 million, which amounted to almost two thirds of the total cost.