In 2017, Labor leader Mark McGowan was swept into power in Western Australia (WA), winning the largest majority government and seat tally in the state’s parliamentary history until that point—taking 41 of the 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly. McGowan resigned last year, handing over the reins to Roger Cook.
It would seem to make little sense for Cook to contemplate overturning one of McGowan’s first policies: a ban on uranium mining in the state.
Four remote projects were excluded, but they were given exemptions as they had been approved before the ban. Three are now on hold indefinitely, and the fourth, Deep Yellow’s Mulga Rock, is still in the test work phase.
It also seems unlikely that the WA Liberals will retake the Treasury benches in 2025, with current polls showing Labor ahead 55 to 45 percent, and lift the restriction to support federal leader Peter Dutton’s plan for a nuclear-powered future.
But ASX-listed explorer Aurora Energy Metals is betting on one of those scenarios, having entered into an option to take over Metalbelt, the holder of several uranium exploration licenses and applications in WA.
While the deal is only expected to be worth $50,000 (US$32,500), its significance lies in the possible motives for the acquisition.
Until now, Aurora has been focused on its flagship development in the United States, a 100 percent-owned uranium project in Oregon, where it plans to run a conventional open pit operation with a processing plant located on land it owns in its southern neighbour Nevada, close to an existing hydroelectricity supply.
Aurora Rolls the Dice on a Policy Change
A June 2024 poll by the Lowy Institute showed 61 percent of respondents were “somewhat” or “strongly” supportive of Australia using nuclear power to generate electricity, while just 37 percent were opposed.Despite electricity prices in WA being regulated by the state government, consumers there pay one of the highest annual costs in the country at around $2,000—equal to Tasmania and the ACT but over double that of Victoria.
So, with an election looming and pressure on politicians to act on the cost of living, Aurora may have decided to gamble on the chance that a newly elected WA government will take a fresh look at the issue.
If the state’s uranium resources were opened up, the incentive of additional mining revenues would be added, even if the ore wasn’t destined for use in Australia.
Aurora Chair Peter Lester sees the potential for change.
“As a company, we are cognisant of the current uranium mining ban in Western Australia, however, we recognise the growing momentum for uranium worldwide, along with heightened discussions around the mining of uranium, not just in WA but nationally,” he said.
“This momentum, we believe, could ultimately lead to a shift in sentiment or policy in Western Australia.”
Aurora has six months to decide and make a definite purchase offer for the option.
It plans to conduct project assessments, including technical and commercial evaluations, during this time. Initial work will focus on landholder engagement and surface inspections using portable spectrometers measuring electromagnetic radiation.
After initial sampling and securing access to any sites of interest, the company will start drilling and using other geophysical methods to define the exact extent of any deposits at the site.
Only around 7 percent of Australia’s known uranium resource is in Western Australia. The largest deposit (80 percent) is in South Australia, with 9 percent in the Northern Territory, 4 percent in Queensland, and 1 percent in New South Wales.
