By Ross Kelly
SYDNEY--Energy Resource of Australia Ltd. (ERA.AU) said
Wednesday its Chief Executive Rob Atkinson is resigning, as the
uranium miner booked a first-half net loss of 53.5 million
Australian dollars (US$48.3 million).
Mr. Atkinson will take up a new role at Rio Tinto PLC (RIO.AU),
which owns about 68% of the company. The precise timing of his
departure and identity of his successor haven't been determined,
ERA said.
The net loss for the six months to June 30 narrowed from a
A$59.9 million loss in the previous year. ERA's profitability has
suffered in recent years from its Ranger pit in Australia's
Northern Territory running out of ore.
The company stopped mining at Ranger last year and is currently
selling stockpiled ore while it studies the merits of digging a new
pit. It hopes to be in a position to make a final investment
decision on this pit, called Ranger 3 Deeps, by the middle of
2014.
Write to Ross Kelly at ross.kelly@wsj.com
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