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History

RANGER

1969

• Ranger ore bodies discovered by joint venturers Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Ltd (EZ) and Peko-Wallsend Operations Limited (Peko).

1974

• The Commonwealth Government takes half the ownership of the ore bodies.

1975

• The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry (Fox Inquiry) was established.

1977

• Presentation of final report finds that uranium mining can proceed.
• An agreement covering mining is signed with the Northern Land Council (NLC), representing the interests of the Aboriginal owners of the area.

1979

• Construction at the Ranger site commences.

1980

• ERA is established as a public company. At the time it was the largest public float in Australian history.
• Using open cut methods, mining of Ranger Pit #1 orebody commences in May 1980.

1981

• The first drum of uranium oxide is produced on 13 August 1981.

1994

• Mining of Ranger Pit #1 orebody is completed in December 1994.
• A total of 19.78 million tonnes of ore was mined at an average grade of 0.321%.

1996

• Final approval to mine Ranger Pit #3 orebody is received from the Northern Territory Government in May.

1997

• Open cut mining of this orebody commences in July 1997, with mining expected to continue until at least 2009.

2006

• In October 2006, ERA announces an increase in Ranger mine’s reserves, adding six years to the predicted operational life of Ranger, extending processing  to 2020.

2007 

• Extension of mining at Ranger (2008-2012) and strategies to identify further extension oppotunities.

2008 

• A 128 per cent increase in the Ranger resource as a result of a successful exploration program at Ranger 3 Deeps.

For a more comprehensive account of the history of ERA, refer to the PDF attached.

© 2006 Energy Resources of Australia Ltd | ERA is a Rio Tinto Group company