News: RIO UPDATE 1-Boss Energy withdraws bid for Energy Resources' Jabiluka uranium site

(Updates with further details and background from paragraph 3 onwards)

July 29 (Reuters) - Boss Energy (BOE) has withdrawn an offer to buy Energy Resources of Australia's (ERA) Jabiluka uranium site in the Northern Territory, after a federal government decision to not renew the mine lease, the companies said on Monday.

Boss Energy had offered A$550 million ($360 million) for the mine site, Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) said.

The Australian government on Friday said it had blocked the application by ERA, which is majority owned by Rio Tinto (RIO) , to extend a mining lease for the uranium-rich area in the country's Northern Territory.

Rio Tinto has said that it would not support mining in the area against the wishes of the traditional owners, the Mirarr Indigenous group.

The government's decision was cheered by the Mirarr for ending a decades-long dispute over the untapped deposits of uranium in the area adjacent to the Kakadu national park. The Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, which represents the group, had no additional comment on Monday.

ERA had applied in March for a 10-year lease renewal on Jabiluka, as the current one expires in August.

($1 = 1.5260 Australian dollars)