Ventia has been awarded a drilling contract with Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA) to drill three directional wells at Ranger Mine near Jabiru in the Northern Territory.
Ventia is already providing environmental rehabilitation services for ERA at Ranger Mine, supplying and installing wick drains in Pit 3 as part of the next phase of critical rehabilitation activities.
This latest contract involves the drilling of three directional wells from the ex-pit natural ground surface to intersect the base of Pit 3, as part of ERA's wider upgrade of the brine injection system which manages the salt content of the process water inventory.
Located 260 kilometres southeast of Darwin, uranium ore was mined at Ranger mine from 1980 until operations ceased in January 2021. The Ranger Project Area is being progressively rehabilitated to establish an environment like the adjacent Kakadu National Park.
Sharon Paulka from Energy Resources Australia said progressive rehabilitation has been taking place at the Ranger Project Area since 1996 and these latest works are another step in the rehabilitation process.
Throughout closure, we will transfer approximately 90 million tonnes of waste rock material back into our remaining mined-out Pit 3 and plant more than one million native trees and grasses.
Kyle Koziol, GM Rig & Well Services says: "Our experienced drilling team is excited to be part of the remediation of Ranger Mine to help ERA restore the natural environment for future use. This adds to the work that Ventia is already undertaking and shows the Ventia team's broad capability to support our clients."
"Ventia has a strong presence in communities in the Northern Territory providing essential services for many local projects."
Ventia in the Northern Territory
Ventia has a proven record in managing complex projects throughout Australia's most northern regions. In the Northern Territory, Ventia has a team of approximately 1,000 people and is the Territory's highest employer of apprentices.
Ventia provides maintenance services for LNG onshore processing facilities in Darwin; complex maintenance, estate management and support services for defence bases; and telecommunications services throughout the territory. Ventia has also previously completed drilling and well servicing projects for natural gas companies in the Amadeus Basin and McArthur Basin in the Northern Territory.