Focus on Uranium
Issue #39: Focus on Uranium
Trekkopje Definitive Feasibility Study
Trekkopje is the site of a green fields project, consisting of a very large, low-grade, shallow uranium resource hosted in calcium carbonate cemented (calcrete) conglomerates. The project rests in the arid desert region of western Namibia, in southwestern Africa, situated in gently sloping terrain. Trekkopje will be an open pit operation, primarily using large hydraulic excavators loading haul trucks. With a planned production rate of 100,000t/d of crushed ore and an average stripping ratio of 0.23:1 (waste to ore), the mine life is expected to last approximately 13 years, based on the current resources. read full article…
Trekkopje Client Focus
UraMin was established in February 2005, with the goal of developing global uranium properties. At the time UraMin’s projects included numerous exploration licenses in Chad, Mozambique, and Canada, as well as advanced exploration projects in four African countries, including Bakouma in the Central African Republic, and Rystkuil in South Africa, with Trekkopje in Namibia being the company’s largest project. read full article…
The Napperby Project in Australia
The Napperby Uranium Project is located 175km northwest of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. The mineralization occurs within a 20km paleochannel, trending approximately east-northeast. Carnotite mineralization resides mostly in sands and sandy clays as finely disseminated particles and blobs up to 5cm long; it can also be found in overlying calcrete as joint coatings. This relatively low grade deposit was discovered and explored by CRA Exploration and Uranerz in the late 1970s. read full article…
Gamma Probe eU% Data QA/QC Procedures
The most common method used to determine in-situ uranium grades from drillholes is down-hole gamma logging, and the conversion of probe-measured counts-per-second (CPS) to “equivalent” in-situ uranium grades (eU% or eU3O8%). Although it is an indirect measurement of uranium grade that requires diligent attention to calibration and correction factors, the eU-determined grade is essentially equivalent to any other analytical method, and should have quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) protocols in place to guarantee the accuracy and precision of results. read full article…
Mineralogy Matters
Uranium is unique amongst metallic elements. Its chemistry is such that it can form both a cation and oxyanion in natural waters (ions that are positively- and acutely-negatively charged) and can combine with different chemical groups to be soluble under both acid and alkaline conditions -- such versatility can be extremely useful to exploit in mineral processing. The mineralogy of uranium is no less complex, and the element can form oxides, silicates, hydroxides, vanadanates, arsenates, phosphates, sulfates, carbonates, molybdates and even urananates. read full article…
Grass Roots Uranium Exploration in Argentina
In 2007 the CEO of UrAmerica Ltd, a private, UK-based exploration company, contracted SRK (Chile) to conduct a technical review, make recommendations, and field check their uranium exploration efforts in the Chubut and Salta Provinces in Argentina. SRK made numerous visits to these areas and issued a series of reports as the exploration phases progressed. read full article…
Developing Uranium Processing Expertise
Working with academia often gives SRK the chance to investigate alternative solutions or develop new ideas that can aid in the understanding and resolution of clients problems, e.g. SRK has strong links with Cardiff University. Currently, Professor Keith Williams, assisted by Dr. Devin Sapsford, is developing a laboratory facility specifically for uranium processing assessment and development within the Characterisation Laboratories for Environmental Engineering Research (CLEER), as part of the School of Engineering. read full article…
Underground Uranium Scoping Study
SRK conducted a scoping study of the underground components of two uranium deposits in Labrador, Canada. The study took on preliminary geotechnical investigations to define the underground context, followed with an analysis of the most appropriate mining methods. The geotechnical study took all of the available information from core logs and core photos to assess the deposit rock quality and to estimate the underground span capabilities, preferred stoping sequence, and potential ground control methodologies, according to defined geotechnical domains. read full article…
Uranium Exploration: the SRK Exploration Perspective
Since 2005 SRK Exploration Services (SRKES) has been a global player in project origination, appraisal and management for uranium exploration. The team has worked on 10 of the 12 major deposit classes and was one of the pioneers at resurrecting interest in the exploration of Saharan Africa. Back in 2005, in a bid to re-evaluate prospects in the context of modern methods and a burgeoning new market, the team visited the Ministries of Mines in Niger and in Mali, and dusted off historic reports detailing the work that had been done in the 1970s by the Japanese and French. read full article…
In-Situ Recovery
Where a uranium orebody exists in a saturated sandstone aquifer, boreholes can be drilled into it and the surrounding water treated with chemicals. This treatment enables the uranium to be dissolved and leached from the orebody, as the chemical solution circulates through it. The solution is then pumped back to the surface through different boreholes and the uranium is recovered. This process is known as solution mining. The aquifer is treated with either an acid or alkali, depending on the geological characteristics of the orebody. read full article…
Institutional Controls on Radioactive Mine Wastes
During the last decade, most jurisdictions around the world implemented legislative requirements for mining and milling operations to prepare closure plans for decommissioning and reclamation, and to post a bond or other financial instrument of sufficient value to cover the cost of the closure. A decade or more later, those same jurisdictions now face the question of how and under what circumstances they are willing to accept the return of such properties, once the operator has fulfilled their closure obligations, demonstrated compliance and now requests release from further financial bonding. read full article…
SOMAIR Uranium Mine Heap Leach Pad
AREVA NC (AREVA) retained SRK Consulting between 2005 and 2007 to undertake the feasibility and detail design of a dedicated heap leach pad and associated ponds for lower-grade uranium ore at their SOMAIR operation in Niger. The heap leach design work undertaken by SRK included determining the pad capacity and footprint area, designing the environmental containment and lining system, stability analyses, surface hydrology and pad water balance, pond sizing and the leach pad drainage system. read full article…
Pele Mountain Resources at the Elliot Lake Project
Production of uranium in the Elliot Lake Camp began in 1955. An estimated 135,000 tons of uranium metal was produced from 12 mines by the end of 1989, at an average grade of approximately 0.09% U3O8. All of the mining took place underground and the primary mining method used was mechanized room and pillar. The ore was hoisted and transported to a central mill for crushing and grinding, and was leached using sulphuric acid to dissolve the uranium. The uranium was then extracted from the solution using solvent extraction or ion exchange processes. read full article…
Using JORC and CIM Guidelines for Uranium Resource Estimation
SRK has considerable experience in classifying resource and reserve estimations in accordance with internationally recognized reporting codes, such as JORC, CIM and SAMREC. Transparency, materiality and competence direct the operation and application of these codes. Whilst the committees involved with these codes decided that a separate code for uranium was not needed, additions and amendments to update uranium exploration for reporting have been made to the JORC and CIM codes. The changes are primarily related to the occurrence of uranium in some deposits, where and how the uranium data is sourced, and how it is extracted. read full article…
Historically, the most commonly encountered flowchart for uranium processing consisted of conventional comminution followed by atmospheric leaching, solid/liquid separation, solvent extraction purification and finally ammonium diuranate (ADU) or yellow cake precipitation. Today a number of alternative technologies are considered. The choice of technology is often driven by the uranium mineralogy and the lithology and nature of the host rock, subject of course to the normal financial, technical and marketing criteria imposed on projects. read full article…
Re-engineering the Elkon Deposit
Elkon in South Yakutia, East Russia, is the world’s largest known, undeveloped uranium deposit. It occurs as a series of narrow sub-parallel, steeply-dipping veins located within the Yuzhnaya fault zone, covering a strike length of some 20km and extending from about 100m to 1600m below surface. On average, the veins are 2 to 3m thick but vary between 12m to <1m in thickness. Along the strike, the veins pinch and swell significantly over short distances. read full article…
Characterizing the Long-term Stability and Porewater Quality of Uranium Mine Tailings
SRK has been providing consulting services to Cameco Corporation for over 15 years. During this time, our geochemists have characterized and monitored geochemistry and water quality issues associated with all types of uranium mine tailings stored in the Above-Ground Tailings Management Facility at Key Lake Mine, the Deilmann In-Pit Tailings Management Facility at Key Lake, and the Rabbit Lake In-Pit Tailings Management Facility at Rabbit Lake Mine. read full article…
Letlhakane Uranium Project, Botswana
In 2008, A-Cap Resources Ltd appointed SRK to undertake a scoping study of their Letlhakane Uranium Project located in east-central Botswana. The site is approximately 80km south of Francistown near the town of Serule, and is adjacent to the main highway and railway, linking Gaborone and Francistown. The extent of the work for the scoping study included undertaking the mining optimization, evaluating the mineralogy and metallurgy, a review of the geology, exploration program and resource definition, an evaluation of the water supply potential, the project environmental requirement, and then selecting a process option. read full article…
Kuriskova Uranium Project, Slovakia
The Kuriskova Uranium Project is an advanced-stage uranium exploration property, with established uranium resources, located in Eastern Slovakia and controlled by Tournigan Energy Ltd (Tournigan). The Kuriskova uranium deposit is best described as an epigenetic vein-type uranium deposit, although it may have had precursor supergene and/or hypogene origins. read full article…
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