On 7 December 2013, Leach Tank 1 at Ranger uranium mine collapsed, resulting in a spill of approximately 1,400 cubic meters of acidic slurry. The spill was contained within the mine site.

ERA notified the Department of Mines and Energy and submitted an incident report under the Mining Management Act.

NT Department of Mines and Energy staff inspected the site on 7 December 2013 and assessed the incident response by ERA.

The incident was also investigated by the Australian Government's Supervising Scientist, NT Worksafe and an independent investigation for the Northern Territory and Australian governments.

The Supervising Scientist’s investigation report concluded that the spill did not result in any adverse impact to the offsite environment or any impact to the health of local residents or mine workers. This report was based on extensive surface, groundwater and radiological analysis. 

The department has completed a thorough investigation into the incident.

Based on legal advice, the department has decided that it is not in the public interest to prosecute ERA under the Mining Management Act. A statement of reasons has been released.

Quarterly audit reports over the past year have indicated ERA is making significant progress in implementing a process safety program and using process safety to define risk and controls to reduce the risk of a similar incident occurring again. 

For further information DME Media Unit 8999 2097 or 0419 106 309