Having taken control of North in a very public battle with Anglo American and its Japanese backers, Rio is now reaping the spoils of victory. Yesterday, it sent its men in to take their places on ERA's board.
The jewel in North’s crown as far as Rio is concerned has always been its iron ore assets, particularly its stake in Robe River Iron Ore Associates. The other subsidiaries and operations it has brought to the union are of secondary concern.
This has left ERA biting its figurative nails as it awaits a decision on whether Rio thinks it has a role to play in its global operations.
“We are continuing to run ERA as we always have - in a very professional manner. It is up to Rio Tinto’s representatives what they decide to do with us,” said ERA company secretary, Jeff Hughes.
The flat profit result ERA posted for the year ended June 30 was rather unfortunate in its timing. The uranium miner announced a profit increase of 2.7% to $22.4 million pre-abnormals as higher sales were offset by a lower average spot market price.
But on the face of it, ERA would meld nicely with Rio’s uranium division, which has offices in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
“Rio brings with it a solid foundation of expertise and a strong track record in uranium, as well as the demonstrated ability to work closely with Aboriginal communities,” said Uranium Information Centre general manager, Ian Hore-Lacy.
For its part, ERA brings to the table its Jabiluka deposits, along with its operating Ranger mine, located 230km east of Darwin, which is nearing the end of its life.
Jabiluka has in excess of 90,000 tonnes of uranium oxide and is among the world’s larger high-grade uranium deposits, according to the Uranium Information Centre.
Since it was discovered in the early 1970s, it has had to contend with the shifting tide of federal politics as well as changing stances adopted by the traditional owners.
Stage One of the development, consisting of a decline, interim water management pond and associated surface facilities was completed in July 1999.
“The Jabiluka site is currently on stand-by, environmental maintenance and planning phase while the company works to better understand and respond to key stakeholder concerns regarding the responsible development of Jabiluka,” ERA said in a statement.
