23. März 2001
"The Australian"

Rio waits for a new era on uranium
By JOHN PHACEAS

Rio Tinto would not support development of the controversial Jabiluka uranium project on ground excised from the Kakadu National Park without a
significant shift in community opinion and uranium markets, Rio Tinto chief executive Leigh Clifford said yesterday.
And efforts to sell Rio's 68 per cent stake in owner ERA, picked up in last year's $3.5 billion takeover of North, remained stalled over price, he said.
ERA held all regulatory approvals needed to start mining at Jabiluka by the end of this year, but opposition from the site's traditional landowners
forced the company to defer plans to truck ore to its nearby Ranger processing facility until 2006, when the Ranger mine was scheduled to close.
With uranium prices still hovering at record lows of under $US8 per pound, and public opposition to the mine, Jabiluka's production prospects were not
good, he said.
"Development (of Jabiluka) is a matter for the ERA board," Mr Clifford said at a Securities Institute lunch in Sydney. "But given (public and
indigenous) opposition, and current market circumstances . . . it would be hard for us to support a development in the short term."
Not surprisingly, Rio has made a concerted effort to offload the ERA stake, valued at more than $340 million during the North bid. It has successfully solicited at least two offers, understood to be from fellow ERA shareholders Cogema of France and French-Canadian group Cameco.
Mr Clifford refused to name the potential buyers. He confirmed talks were under way but said price had become a stumbling block.
"We were approached by a couple of parties and continue to discuss (a sale) but there certainly hasn't been any meeting of minds about value," he said.
With the prospect of a change of federal government looming later this year, however, Rio will be under pressure to settle soon. A Labor
government is considered unlikely to approve any sale to a group with French connections.
Asked about BHP's planned $57 billion merger with Billiton, Mr Clifford said he expected it to have little effect on Rio.
"Those companies are competitors and joint venture partners and I don't see that situation altering with the proposed new structure," he said. Moreover, such consolidaton was good for the industry.
"As larger companies emerge, I think there is a stronger focus on returns on capital," he said.

c News Limited

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Donnerstag, 29. März 2001

Democrats Media: Australian Senate revels in Rio Tinto
announcement


The following resolution from Democrats Nuclear Spokesperson, Lyn Allison, was actually passed on the voices in the senate this morning (29 March 01):

857 Senator Allison: To move-
That the Senate-
(a) notes the announcement by Rio Tinto in the week beginning 18 March 2001 that it would not support mine owner Energy Resources of Australia's
development of Jabiluka in the short term;
(b) advises the Government that it is unacceptable for this major mine site including retention dams, mine construction and associated works to remain in this state for any length of time; and
(c) calls on the Government to commence discussions with Rio Tinto immediately with a view to an early rehabilitation of the site and for it to be handed back to the traditional owners as soon as possible.

JOHN DERRY
Media Officer to Senator Lyn Allison

(Senator Lyn Allison is the Democrats spokesperson on: Schools, Telecommunications, Superannuation, Public Service, Disabilities, Aged Care, Heritage, Energy, and Nuclear Issues.)