LONDON, April 24, 2026, 19:00 BST
- Energy Resources of Australia reported that the Federal Court hasn’t yet ruled on Rio Tinto’s push to compulsorily acquire the outstanding shares.
- ERA put roughly $47 million into Ranger rehabilitation during the March quarter; capping work at Pit 3 stayed under review.
- Rio Tinto posted higher iron ore and copper production in the first quarter, but flagged ongoing issues with fuel costs, water supplies, and legacy mine closures.
Energy Resources of Australia said Friday that Rio Tinto’s push to buy out minority shareholders is still with the Federal Court, keeping legal uncertainty hanging over the shuttered Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory. The proposed compulsory acquisition—Rio’s attempt to squeeze out the last holdouts—hit a hurdle after objections surpassed the legal threshold, so court sign-off is still pending.
Investors are watching closely as Rio pushes to boost production and hold costs in check, all while managing its aging assets. Earlier this week, the company posted a 9% increase in copper-equivalent output from a year earlier—this metric translates all commodity production into copper terms—and left its main 2026 guidance where it was.
Ranger isn’t about growth; it’s a closure case. Rio says ERA wrapped up mining and processing at Ranger back in January 2021, ending a four-decade run. The company owns 98.43% of ERA and, under a 2024 services agreement, is handling the rehab project.
According to ERA’s filing, Rio Tinto faced formal objections from 123 shareholders—together holding roughly 43% of the shares targeted in the takeover bid. That figure easily tops the 10% trigger set by Australia’s Corporations Act, meaning court approval is now required for the deal to move ahead. The court hearing wrapped up in February, but a decision hasn’t yet been handed down.
Cash continues to flow out. As of March 31, ERA held $211.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, along with $338.5 million in other financial assets. Roughly $47 million went toward rehabilitation for the quarter. No material environmental incidents or recordable injuries were reported.
Pit 3 is still the toughest challenge, with ERA flagging capping — that’s the process of sealing off mine waste or tailings so the pit can eventually be shut and stabilised — as the main bottleneck for the project. Conditions in the pit are inconsistent, so ERA may have to deploy several capping methods. On top of that, trial construction work has run into delays, thanks to seasonal road closures and a pause on permits for heavy machinery.
Still, timing may not favor Rio. ERA noted more rainfall than expected during the wet season, prompting a reassessment of the longer-term water balance. Fuel prices are up too, driven by ongoing supply-chain snags. Even so, ERA hasn’t flagged any major supply problems.
For now, Rio has some breathing space in its broader operating setup. The miner’s Pilbara iron ore production climbed 13% to 78.8 million tonnes in the first quarter. Pilbara sales managed a 2% uptick, hitting 72.4 million tonnes. Consolidated copper output was up, too, adding 9% to reach 229,000 tonnes. Sales guidance for Pilbara iron ore in 2026 is unchanged at 323 million to 338 million tonnes; copper stays at 800,000 to 870,000 tonnes.
Chief Executive Simon Trott credited “operating excellence” for a 9% YoY copper equivalent production bump, noting the “first $650m of annualised benefits” are in place. Trott also addressed recent fatalities at Simandou and Kennecott, underscoring that safety remains fundamental to the company. Rio Tinto
Fuel and logistics are shaping up as the immediate market threats. Rio said its direct operations haven’t been heavily hit by the Middle East conflict up to now, according to a statement to Reuters. For the rest of the year, though, Baden Moore from CLSA Australia flagged jet fuel and diesel shortages as the “key risk to operations.” Reuters
Rivals are active, too. BHP topped expectations for its third-quarter iron ore production this week and pulled the plug on discussions with China’s state iron ore buyer. Rio, for its part, rebuffed Glencore’s approach to merge, a move that Reuters says would have formed the world’s largest mining group.
Rio Tinto’s London shares finished Friday down 0.58% at 7,381 pence, according to a market data page. Now, everything turns on the court’s decision: a green light means Rio can press ahead with the squeeze-out and tidy up ERA’s ownership. If not, unresolved minority-shareholder objections and the Jabiluka lease keep lingering over a company that’s shifted focus from mining to winding down.
