[Uranium] Ressources, production et consommation mondiale

[Alturiak]

Enfin juste pour se représenter 600 tonne d'acier c'est près de 80m^3. Dans le cas qui nous intéresse ces 600 tonne sont la pour faire une paroi, me demande la taille de la bête une fois finie

Prenant, pour se donner une idée, l'hypothèse d'un cube, si l'épaisseur des parois est de 1m, le cube fait 4,5m de côté (extérieur). Pour une épaisseur de 50cm le côté est de 5,5m ; pour 20cm d'épaisseur on a un côté d'un peu plus de 8m.

Quant à la manipulation et au transport, les plus grandes grues flottantes ont des capacités de levage de plusieurs milliers de tonnes.


il faut aller voir ici : http://www.skullpat.com/2009/01/16/plus ... -au-monde/

energy isére
Edit (Alturiak) : merci.

[Tovi]

Tiens d'ailleurs ce sont ces barres qui ont faillit provoquer un accident nucléaire majeur au Tricastin dernièrement. La grue les avait coincé dans le réacteur.

Edit : c'était des barres de combustible, mais la fiabilité de tout ça laisse à désirer quand même.

[Jägermeifter]

La France prospecte les mines d'uranium africaines
LE MONDE | 27.03.09 | 15h30 • Mis à jour le 27.03.09 | 20h01



L'uranium réveille toutes les convoitises - celle de la France en particulier, dont 80 % de l'électricité est produite par les centrales nucléaires d'EDF. Dans ses voyages à l'étranger, Nicolas Sarkozy ne se contente pas de se faire le "VRP" de la technologie "made in France" (avec le réacteur EPR de troisième génération), comme l'en accusent les Verts et les associations écologistes ; il s'emploie aussi à parrainer des accords destinés à sécuriser l'approvisionnement du pays en uranium, nécessaire à la fabrication du combustible des cinquante-huit réacteurs français.

La visite du chef de l'Etat en République démocratique du Congo (RDC), au Congo-Brazzaville et au Niger, jeudi 26 et vendredi 27 mars, a donc pris une dimension énergétique importante avec la signature à Kinshasa, jeudi, d'un important accord sur l'uranium entre Areva et le gouvernement de la RDC. Le groupe nucléaire français a obtenu le droit d'explorer et d'exploiter les futurs gisements découverts dans un pays en proie à l'anarchie, mais qui détient, selon les experts, "un potentiel uranifère significatif" par sa surface et son profil géologique. La convention ne porte pas seulement sur l'exploration de la riche région minière du Katanga, mais sur l'ensemble du territoire de la RDC.

"C'est un sujet extrêmement vaste qui va prendre des années, a prévenu la présidente du directoire d'Areva, Anne Lauvergeon. Nous allons décider ensemble des priorités, aller voir ce qui est exploitable." Une commission mixte franco-congolaise y travaillera. Areva souhaite mettre en place un "partenariat gagnant-gagnant" pour valoriser ces ressources.

L'accord ouvre une brèche dans le monopole théorique que la société d'Etat Gécamines exerçait sur le secteur. Négocié en secret depuis deux ans, il efface un contrat un temps annoncé entre l'Etat congolais et Brinkley Africa, filiale du groupe britannique Brinkley Mining, rompu en septembre 2007. Il prévoyait la reprise de l'exploitation de l'énorme mine de Shinkolobwe, officiellement fermée mais soumise à une exploitation sauvage.

Au sein de l'exécutif congolais, la bataille pour l'attribution des concessions, renouvelées depuis l'arrivée de Joseph Kabila au pouvoir en 2001, fait l'objet de joutes homériques sur fond de soupçons de corruption. Mme Lauvergeon affirme qu'en Afrique comme ailleurs, Areva s'interdit ce genre de pratiques. "Nous sommes perçus comme un exploitant sérieux, sans caisse noire, qui investit, utilise des techniques sophistiquées et fait profiter les populations locales, explique-t-elle.

L'accord avec la RDC intervient après la signature entre Areva et le Niger, début janvier, d'une convention minière stratégique pour le numéro un mondial du nucléaire. La mise en oeuvre du permis d'exploitation d'Imouraren en ferait la deuxième mine du monde lors de son ouverture prévue en 2012. Elle permettra à Areva de faire passer sa production annuelle de 6 000 à 12 000 tonnes vers 2015.

La France, qui exploite l'uranium nigérien depuis cinquante ans, a été préférée au Canada et surtout à la Chine, qui cherche par tous les moyens à sécuriser l'approvisionnement des quelque trente réacteurs qu'elle construira d'ici à 2020 à raison de deux ou trois tranches par an.

Mme Lauvergeon assure, là aussi, vouloir être exemplaire et développer un "partenariat sur le très long terme" au bénéfice des deux parties. Les deux tiers des revenus d'Imouraren iront au Niger et le tiers restant à la société française, après paiement des impôts et taxes, a-t-elle indiqué. "On ne peut pas travailler dans un pays si les gens ne voient pas ce qu'on fait pour eux", note-t-elle. Les ONG regroupées au sein du Réseau des organisations pour la transparence et l'analyse budgétaire n'y croient guère et rappellent que "les populations des zones minières sont préoccupées par le phénomène de radiation et la pollution des nappes d'eau".

Après vingt ans de sous-investissement, la renaissance du nucléaire relance la chasse aux gisements, et les tensions s'exacerbent sur le marché de l'uranium. Les stocks militaires recyclés en combustible pour centrales dans le cadre des politiques de désarmement s'épuisent en effet au moment où les pays émergents (Chine, Inde, Russie...) développent leur parc électro-nucléaire. Y a-t-il pénurie en vue ? "Au rythme actuel de la consommation, les ressources identifiées peuvent approvisionner l'industrie pendant un siècle", répond l'Agence pour l'énergie nucléaire, qui dépend de l'Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques. Un optimisme dénoncé par les anti-nucléaires, qui jugent que les ressources, largement surestimées, s'épuiseront vers 2030.

L'uranium est une ressource stratégique pour la France plus que pour tout autre pays. D'autant que le chef de l'Etat a confirmé le choix de l'énergie nucléaire en annonçant, le 6 février, la construction d'un second EPR, le réacteur de troisième génération, sur le site de Penly (Seine-Maritime). Il souhaite même que la France, qui affiche actuellement un déficit commercial record, exporte plus de courant grâce au développement de son parc nucléaire.

Avec ce minerai, c'est l'approvisionnement d'EDF, et donc la sécurité énergétique, qui sont en jeu. Areva lui fournit encore 40 % à 50 % de son uranium naturel, l'autre moitié étant livrée par d'autres géants miniers (BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Cameco...). "Nous avons une couverture à long terme qui nous amène en 2020, explique Sylvain Granger, directeur adjoint de la division combustible nucléaire d'EDF. Par chance, il y a une plus grande diversité de sources que dans le pétrole et le gaz." Et les grands gisements se trouvent dans des pays politiquement sûrs, comme l'Australie ou le Canada. Pour s'assurer l'accès à ce minerai à long terme, EDF négocie avec des groupes miniers pour co-investir dans l'exploitation de gisements en échange d'un droit d'enlèvement de l'uranium à bon prix.

Il est également vital pour Areva de diversifier ses sources d'approvisionnement. Exploitant des mines dans trois pays (Canada, Niger et Kazakhstan), le groupe détient de 20 % à 25 % du marché de l'uranium naturel. Il prospecte en Mongolie, en Libye, en Jordanie. Sa stratégie de groupe intégré sur toute la chaîne nucléaire le pousse à proposer des réacteurs, le combustible et son retraitement. Il a ainsi vendu deux EPR à la compagnie d'électricité chinoise CGNPC, mais aussi 49 % du canadien UraMin (racheté un an plus tôt), qui possède des droits d'exploitation en Afrique du Sud, en Namibie et en Centrafrique. Ce modèle intégré semble faire des émules : les fabricants de réacteurs Toshiba-Westinghouse et General Electric-Hitachi s'intéressent désormais aux mines d'uranium.
Philippe Bernard et Jean-Michel Bezat

[krolik]

A titre indicatif de cequi se passe dans le monde au niveau de la rechcerhe et de l'exploitation dans le monde, je vous mets à suivre la compilation de ce qui s'est passé pour ce mois de Mars.

@+

March 2009

Australia : Production from Energy Resources of Australia’s (ERA) Ranger mine and BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam project will lead to a 5% increase in Australia’s uranium production for the 2008-2009 year, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE). A recent quarterly report from ABARE stated that production for the current year should climb to 10 583 tonnes U3O8 (23 million pounds U3O8). It also stated that increased production and rising uranium prices brought on by rising demand will drive Australia’s uranium export earnings an additional 31% to $1.2 billion (US$771 million) for the 2009-2010 year. Added production from ERA and BHP Billiton, as well as new production from other mining companies, will place Australia in line with top producers Kazakhstan and Africa. (TradeTech, 06 March)

The South Australian Opposition has joined The Greens and environmental groups in calling for more scrutiny of BHP Billiton's multi-billion-dollar expansion of its Olympic Dam uranium and copper mine. An environmental impact study on the mine's expansion will be released on May 1 but will only be available for public consultation for two months. The Opposition wants that extended to four months while Greens MP Mark Parnell has proposed three months and has the backing of the Conservation Council. The Conservation Council said that if the expansion at Olympic Dam was to proceed it must encompass world's best practice, including the public consultation aspect. The planned expansion at Olympic Dam will lift annual copper production from 170,000 tonnes to about 730,000 and uranium oxide production from 4000 tonnes to 19,000. It will also create the world's largest mining project and generate hundreds of new jobs. Expanded production was originally expected to come on line in 2013 but industry analysts have suggested the project could be delayed by two years because of the global economic downturn. The Greens have already introduced a bill to parliament's upper house to provide for a three-month consultation period. (The Independent Weekly, March 24)


UraniumSA (USA) has announced that a new uranium province – the Pirie Basin - has been confirmed in South Australia following the identification of a potential ore grade mineralisation in a redox front corridor fronting the north eastern coast of Eyre Peninsula. Ongoing drilling of its Mullaquana project, 20 kilometres southwest of Whyalla, has provided sufficient drillhole data to confirm the uranium prospectivity of the Basin. The Pirie Basin stretches for more than 100 kilometres between Whyalla in the north and Cowell in the south but has not, until now, been confirmed as a specific uranium prospective province. Prevailing industry standards are that a grade x thickness product intersection above 0.05 m% uranium oxide is a potential ore grade. Intersections above this critical level have been returned from two new zones of mineralisation within Mullaquana. (USA, 17 March)


Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. (ERA) said it applied for government approval of a heap leach expansion project at the Ranger uranium mine in Northern Territory. If approved, the heap leach facility will treat 10 million metric tons of low grade mineralized material a year, contained in stockpiles and the operating Ranger pit, to produce a total of 15,000 to 20,000 tons of uranium oxide. Construction of the heap leach project would take about two years, a company spokesman said, and a pre-feasibility study is expected to be completed within the first half of 2009. ERA has also proposed to build an exploration decline to examine the extension of the Ranger ore body. The Ranger mine has been in production since 1981, and mining is currently scheduled to cease in 2012-13. Uranium output will continue from significant stockpiles at the mine until 2020-21. (Dow Jones, 16 March)



A feasibility study into the viability of ERA’s heap leaching project at Ranger, to treat 10 million tonnes of low-grade uranium ore per year, will be complete by mid year. The project gives the prospect of recovering up to 20,000 tonnes of uranium oxide in total. Column leach trials have so far been encouraging, yielding extractions of greater than 70% at low rates of acid consumption, hence using less energy and producing less waste compared with conventional processing. The facility would consist of fully lined heaps of crushed ore about five metres high and covering about 60-70 hectares. They would be built and removed on a regular cycle with the residues stored after leaching is completed. The acid leach solutions would be treated in a process similar to that used in the existing Ranger plant and recycled after the uranium is removed from the pregnant leach liquor. Heap leaching is a well-proven technology commonly associated with gold and copper mining, and was used at Rum Jungle uranium mine for copper recovery 40 years ago. (WNN, 19 March)


The French company Areva wants to mine 14,000 tonnes of uranium at the Koongarra site that is surrounded by the Kakadu National Park. The lucrative $5 billion uranium deposit sits three kilometres from Nourlangie Rock - a sacred art site and major tourist attraction. Representatives of traditional owners, the Northern Land Council (NLC), Areva and the Territory and Federal governments met in Jabiru and Cooinda this week to discuss the future of the deposit. Traditional owners decided mining should not go ahead at the site. By law the matter can be revisited, but the NLC says it has been told by traditional owner Jeffrey Lee that he never wants to discuss the company's proposal again. The Land Council also says Mr. Lee is still keen for the site to incorporated into Kakadu. (ABC Darwin, 20 Feb.)

Brazilian mining company Vale has signed an agreement with Perth-based Uranium Equities to acquire up to 80 percent of its Headwaters project, in the East Alligator uranium field of West Arnhem Land. Vale, which does not produce uranium, has been acquiring interests in exploration projects to diversity its minerals portfolio. In 2007 it entered a joint venture in Western Australia with Dioro. (TradeTech, 13 March)


Adelaide-based Toro Energy has more than doubled the resource estimate for the Napperby uranium project in the Northern Territory. The inferred resource has now been increased to 9,34-million tons, at 0,036% uranium oxide, for 3 351 t of contained uranium oxide. This compared with the previous estimate of 4,6-million tons at 0,031% uranium oxide, for 1 420 t of contained uranium oxide.
With about half of the known mineralised area drilled, the results gave further confidence of the validity of the original historical exploration target range for Napperby, of between 5 700 t and 6 200 t of contained uranium. The scoping study currently being undertaken at the project is also assessing the overall economics of the project. (MiningWeekly, 03 March)

Mega Uranium, Japan Australia Uranium Resources Development (JAURD) and Itochu Corp have entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding in respect of the proposed farm-in and joint venture, which provides for aggregate payments of $49 million by JAURD and Itochu to Mega Uranium in order to earn their aggregate 35% interest in the Lake Maitland project located in the Eastern Goldfields area of Western Australia, 100 km south of Wiluna. JAURD shareholders include three Japanese utilities, Kansai Electric Power Co (50%), Kyushu Electric Power Co (25%) and Shikoku Electric Power Co (15%), together with trading company Itochu (10%). JAURD's three utility partners have a combined installed nuclear capacity of 17,048 MWe from six nuclear power plants. Kansai, Kyushu and Shikoku will have access to uranium produced at Lake Maitland for their own use and Itochu will be able to participate in additional uranium off-take arrangements from the project. Mega said that it was on schedule to develop a mine and commission a plant in 2011 with an initial production capacity of 750 tonnes U3O8 per year. Lake Maitland contains Inferred Resource of 23.7 million pounds U3O8 (10,750 tonnes U3O8) at an average grade of 0.03% U3O8. Mega Uranium acquired the Lake Maitland uranium resource in December 2006 through the takeover of the Australian public company, Redport Ltd. (WNN,02 March)

Uranium mining could be allowed in Queensland if the Liberal National Party (LNP) wins this month's state election. Opposition leader Lawrence Springborg gave his strongest support yet for lifting the State's ban on uranium mining. “There is absolutely no sense in cutting off job opportunities for Queenslanders when just across the border in the Northern Territory, in South Australia, in Western Australia, thousands of Australians are being employed in the uranium industry under Labor governments," Mr Springborg said. The Queensland Government allows exploration for uranium, and has approved permits as recently as December 11. Premier Anna Bligh (Labor) last week maintained her objection to uranium mining, but Mount Isa's Labor MP Betty Keirnan has broken ranks and supported the industry. (Herald Sun, March 09)

Uranium mining will not be given the go ahead in Queensland after the Labor government was re-elected for the fifth consecutive term at the state election on Saturday. The win means there will be no uranium mining in the sunshine state until at least 2012. Queensland contains an estimated $20 billion in uranium reserves. However, Labor’s policies allow only exploration and not mining of the resource.
Opposition leader, Lawrence Springborg, said uranium mining would benefit the state’s economy, and was set to lift the ban if the LNP party was elected. However, Premier Bligh says yellowcake mining requires “huge capital for infrastructure” and is standing by her decision to oppose it. Labor’s uranium mining policies will remain unchanged in the next term. The Bligh government has turned its focus to low-carbon initiatives and is working to introduce higher energy efficiency standards to create a ‘greener Queensland’. (Australian Mining, 23 March)



Cameron: Toronto-based Mega Uranium Ltd. provided an update on exploration activities in its three projects consisting of six concessions with a total area of 4 654 km2. At the Kitongo project, drill intersections include 3.4 meters at 0.10% U3O8, 3 meters at 0.13% U3O8, 41.9 meters at 468 ppm U3O8, and grab sample results of 324 – 8 293 ppm U3O8 at Salaki. The holes show that the uranium mineralisation is concentrated in zones of albitised granite of Middle Proterozoic age lying parallel to the ENE Kitongo fault. In the Mayo Nielse prospect, located 7 kilometers north of the Kitongo mineralisation, 6 diamond core holes were drilled to investigate an airborne radiometric anomaly within a sequence of Upper Cambrian/Lower Ordovician conglomeratic sandstones and conglomerates which dip southwards at 35-40 degrees. The only intersection of any economic significance was 15 meters at 297 ppm U3O8 from 68.4-83.4 meters. At the Salaki concession, located 22 kilometers WSW of the Kitongo mineralisation, the work delineated a 500 meter long zone of elevated radiometric values in brecciated basic volcanics and volcaniclastic sediments along a major NW-trending fracture. Ten grab samples of the various lithologies in the prospect assayed in the range 324-8 293 ppmU3O8. (Marketwire, March 3)



Canada : Cameco Corp. has raised some C$460 million ($360 million) through the completion of a bought deal public offering of common shares. These funds will be used to allow Cameco to take advantage of opportunities that may emerge from the current industry environment, and for general corporate purposes. (WNN, 06 March)

Cameco Corp. reported that work on stopping water inflow in the No.1 shaft at Cigar Lake had started, but it expects the work to take most of 2009. Remediation of No.2 shaft continues : Cameco said it had succeeded in sealing the inflow in the shaft and that it anticipated removing all of the water in the shaft in the second quarter of 2009. Now Cameco is no longer anticipating production in 2011 : "There can be no assurance as to when production will commence or that other occurrences will not further delay production." Cigar Lake, which was flooded in 2006, is one of the world's most promising uranium deposits, with estimated reserves of 113 million pounds of U3O8 at grades as high as 20.7%. Led by Cameco, holding 50% of the project, a consortium of Areva Resources Canada (37%), Idemitsu Canada Resources (8%) and Tepco Resources (5%) has been developing the deposit in the province of Saskatchewan. Originally, the mine was expected to begin operating in early 2008. Cameco has incurred C$359 million ($280 million) in capital costs to develop Cigar Lake up to the end of 2008. The company added that, in addition, its share of remediation costs is expected to total C$92 million ($72 million), of which C$46 million ($36 million) had been spent by the end of 2008. It expects to spend C$21 million ($16 million) on remediating Cigar Lake in 2009. (WNN, 06 March)

A uranium supply crunch could be around the corner due to industry-wide cuts to development projects, rising demand, and uncertainty about Russia’s plans for its decommissioned nuclear arsenal, according to Cameco CEO Jerry Grandey. Cameco planned to take advantage of low valuations among uranium miners to make acquisitions, and said deals worth more than US$2 billion were a possibility. Grandey also said he could not speculate when Cameco’s Cigar Lake mine would begin production, but he was confident the high-grade mine would come to production at some point. (TradeTech, 13 March)



Denison Mines Corp. this week reported a net loss of US$56.8 million for the fourth quarter and nearly $81 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, due primarily to non-cash writedowns of $59 million caused by falling commodity prices and weak share prices. The company’s uranium sales revenue for the year totaled nearly $115 million. Sales from Canadian production totaled 742,950 pounds U3O8 at an average price of $57.40 per pound. Denison CEO Peter Farmer said this week that the company was in danger of violating a debt covenant tied to its profitability, and that the company was reviewing “strategic opportunities” to keep that from happening. (TradeTech, March 20)



Toronto-based Denison Mines Corp. reported continued success in drilling the new zone of unconformity hosted uranium mineralization at it owned Wheeler River project in the Athabasca Basin. Two holes of the 2009 winter drill program have returned significant uranium intersections at the unconformity. The exploration model at Wheeler is a repetition of the McArthur River pelite ore zone. The project is a joint venture between Denison (60%), Cameco Corp. (30%) and JCU (Canada) Exploration Company Ltd. (10%). (Marketwire, Feb. 17)

Areva Resources is to delay mining of the Caribou ore body which was to commence mining activity at Caribou in March 2009. Caribou is a small uranium deposit located 1.8 km northwest of the mined-out Sue C pit at McClean Lake. The relatively shallow ore body is about 100-130 metres below the surface, making it a good fit for open pit development. Areva was proposing to use McClean Lake's existing Jeb mill to process the ore and existing tailings management facilities to manage solid and liquid waste. Areva had commenced the regulatory process in December 2006 with the submission of the project description. (UxC, March 23)



Vancouver-based Hathor Exploration Limited announced initial winter 2009 drill program assay results that grade up to 70.7% U3O8 from the Roughrider Zone on its 90% owned Midwest NorthEast uranium property in which Terra Ventures owns a 10% carried interest. Nine of 16 drill holes intersected uranium mineralization. A drill hole encountered 15 metres of 12% U3O8. Vertical depth to the unconformity is approximately 210 to 215 metres. The high-grade uranium mineralization encountered in these drill holes occurs in basement rocks that are a heterogeneous mix of variably clay-altered to clay-replaced pelitic gneiss, graphitic pelitic gneiss, granitic pegmatite and microgranite.(Hathor, March 04)



Vancouver-based Pitchstone Exploration Ltd. and Denison Mines Corp. have signed an agreement that grants Pitchstone the right to earn up to a 75 percent interest in Denison’s Johnston Lake property in the eastern Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan. The Johnston Lake property comprises four claims totaling 15,666 hectares, three of which are contiguous with Pitchstone’s Gumboot property, which is located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Cameco’s Cigar Lake uranium deposit. Results reported by previous owners include assays up to 0.27% U3O8 over 0.5 meter, as well as concentrations of nickel, cobalt, lead, and gold. To earn an initial 49 percent interest, Pitchstone must fund C$1 million (US$813,000) in exploration on the property by February 2012. Pitchstone has an option to earn another 26 percent by spending an additional $1 million in exploration on the property by February 2014. Pitchstone will act as operator of the project. (TradeTech, 27 March)



Uracan Resources Ltd. has doubled the NI 43-101 compliant inferred resources on the TJ and Middle (MZ) zones within its North Shore uranium property in Quebec. At TJ, a total of 28.66 million tonnes averaging 0.011% U3O8 and containing about 7 million pounds U3O8 has been outlined. At MZ, 52.03 million tonnes averaging 0.012% U3O8 and containing 13.7 million pounds U3O8 has been mapped. The TJ and MZ inferred resources are based on drilling completed during 2008. (TradeTech, 28 Feb.)

Congo : Areva has signed a cooperation agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on uranium prospecting and mining. The agreement includes the creation of a joint commission that will develop a technical prospecting program. The work will start with a detailed inventory of uranium mining sites and an update of all databases. Areva noted that DRC's "size and geographical profile have given it major uranium reserves." The Belgian Congo, as it then was, provided much of the uranium for the Manhattan Project in the early 1940s, particularly from the Shinkolobwe mine in south-eastern Congo. There was some uranium mining subsequently by Union Minière, until the country's independence in 1960, when the shafts were sealed and guarded. About 25,000 tonnes of uranium was produced in the two decades until then. In July 2007, Brinkley Mining of the UK signed an agreement with the DRC for the production of uranium and for financial assistance to halt uranium smuggling. The joint venture was to explore and exploit uranium deposits with particular emphasis on initial five key areas, including the former Shinkolobwe mine. The other deposits are at Mindigi, Kalongwe, Kasompi and Samboa. The partnership was also to market the resulting uranium. However, in September 2008, Brinkley announced that, following the completion of a strategic review of the company's assets in DRC, the company had decided to terminate its operations there. (WNN, 27 March)


France : Développée par l’IRSN à la demande du Ministère de l’Écologie, de l’Énergie, du Développement durable et de l’Aménagement du Territoire, dans l'esprit des recommandations émises par le Haut Comité pour la Transparence et l'Information sur la Sécurité Nucléaire, la base de données «Mémoire et Impact des Mines d’Uranium : Synthèses et Archives » (Mimausa) a été mise à la disposition de l’ensemble des parties prenantes intéressées. Cette base nationale se compose d’une fiche de synthèse (exploitation et historique) et de fiches individuelles contenant des informations détaillées sur l’historique et la situation actuelle de chacun des 210 anciens sites miniers d'uranium exploités en France métropolitaine (situation, date de début et de fin d’exploitation, quantité d'uranium produite, résidus stockés, propriétaires, dates de réaménagement, surveillance, restrictions d’usage, …). (IRSN, 26 Jan.)


Jordan : Rio Tinto has signed an agreement to explore of different areas of Jordan for uranium, as part of the kingdom’s efforts to initiate a nuclear energy program. The country’s 1.2 billion tonnes of phosphate reserves are estimated to contain 130,000 tonnes of uranium. A consortium between Rio Tinto and Jordan will be established at a later stage, which is expected to boost prospects for future cooperation. Jordan hopes to have its first commercial nuclear plant operating by 2015. (TradeTech, 28 Feb.)

Kazakhstan : Russia’s state-controlled uranium holding company AtomEnergoProm reported it had purchased stakes in uranium deposits located in Kazakhstan from tycoon Vladimir Anisimov through its mining unit AtomRedMetZoloto (ARMZ). ARMZ bought a 50 percent interest in part of the Budyonnovskoye deposit, which has proven and probable reserves of 18,200 tU and estimated reserves of 31,600 tU (82 million pounds U3O8), according to a GazPromBank statement. In addition, the Russian entity acquired a 25 percent share in another part of the Kazakh deposit with proven and probable reserves of 25,100 tU (65 million pounds U3O8) and an estimated 58,900 tU (153 million pounds U3O8). The remaining stakes in the deposit belong to Kazakh state-owned nuclear company KazAtomProm. (TradeTech, 13 March)


Uranium One's newly announced 2008 results reflect a year in which lower uranium prices saw earnings from mine operations fall by 5% despite increases in production and sales of 41% and 37% respectively. The company also wrote down $3.3 billion on its mineral interests, plant and equipment, although it expects income tax recoveries to make the net writedown $2.4 billion. Gross of tax recovery, the writedown was made up of $1.8 billion on the Dominion mine in South Africa, $0.9 billion on US exploration properties, $0.2 billion on the Honeymoon ISL project and Australian exploration, $0.1 billion each on US conventional mining properties and a further $0.1 billion on the Hobson and La Palangana ISL projects in the USA. Uranium One confirmed that the company would consider selling further non-core assets to a limited extent, with due diligence already being carried out for a possible sale of the Dominion mine. Nonetheless, the company is expecting around 3.5 million pounds U3O8 (1346 tU) of attributable production from its Kazakh interests in 2009 and anticipates an increase in its inventory levels from 1.2 million pounds U3O8 (462 tU) at the end of 2008 to 1.8 million pounds (692 tU) by the end of 2009. (WNN, 17 March)

Uranium One wrote down mineral properties and equipment by US$2.4 billion last year, including $1.3 billion on its Dominion mine in South Africa that was placed on care and maintenance in October. The Dominion mine could be sold and potential buyers are looking at it and a due diligence investigation is under way, CEO Jean Nortier said this week. The write down also included $1 billion on US properties and $0.1 billion on exploration at the company’s Honeymoon and other Australian properties. The company reported uranium production during 2008 of nearly 2.9 million pounds U3O8, which was a 41 percent increase compared to the previous year. Sales volume last year totaled about 2.2 million pounds U3O8, which was a 37 percent increase over 2007. Uranium One expects production to increase 22 percent in 2009 to 3.5 million pounds U3O8, driven by increased output from its joint venture operations in Kazakhstan. It expects capital expenditures of $21 million this year for development of property in Wyoming and $6 million toward the costs of building a sulphuric acid plant in Kazakhstan. (TradeTech, March 20)



Madagascar : Vancouver-based Pan African Mining Corp. (PAM) reported core drill results including 6.0 metres at 3.44 Lbs/Sh.T U3O8 (0.15% U) at its Tranomaro uranium project in the south-east of Madagascar. Uranium typically occurs in this region as uranothorianite in bands of pyroxenite, where “Mine n° 37” was in operation by the French CEA through the late 1950's, focusing on extraction of uranium from several of the high-grade readily minable surface deposits in the area. CEA exploited uranium from the regions of Folakara and Tranomaro during the period from the late 1930's through the 1950's, with systematic exploration of Madagascar for radioactive materials being undertaken to 1966 in detailed regional studies that outlined several uraniferous areas. In 1976, the newly created “Office des Mines Nationales et des Industries Stratégiques” (OMNIS) resumed exploration of the more promising CEA discoveries with technical advice and funding from the IAEA. Now PAM overall uranium licenses in Madagascar cover 2 700 km² in the regions of Antsirabe, Tranomaro, Folakara and Makay. (PressWire, February 18)

Malawi : Paladin Energy Ltd. reported that one of three subcontractors injured in a flash fire at the Kayelekera site on March 16, has died. The two other injured men remain in stable condition and are being treated at a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. (TradeTech, March 20)



Paladin Energy Ltd. has confirmed reports in the Malawi press this week about “worker unrest” at the company’s Kayelekera uranium project. The company advised that about 250 of the 1,600 employees on its construction workforce at Kayelekera protested in support of claims relating to pay and conditions. Paladin confirmed that Malawi police were called to the site as a precautionary measure to manage the disturbances. “Paladin management and workers’ representatives are meeting today to resolve any issues, some of which revolve around the winding down of the construction phase of the project and consequent impending construction workforce demobilization which will need to occur,” a March 19 statement said. Paladin’s essential construction workforce remains on the job and the plant commissioning program is unaffected and continues to be on schedule. (TradeTech, March 20)



Mongolia : Toronto-based Khan Resources Inc. reported the results of its definitive feasibility study for its Dornod uranium project in NE Mongolia. The study was based on the indicated mineral resource of 25.3 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.116% U3O8 for 64.3 million lbs of U3O8 and an inferred mineral resource of 2.2 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.050% U3O8 for 2.4 million lbs of U3O8. The 2008 probable mineral reserve for the No. 2 open pit and No. 7 underground deposits is 18.0 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.133% U3O8 for 52.9 million lbs of U3O8 out of the 64.3 million lbs of indicated mineral resources. The study assumes a long-term uranium price of US$65 per lb U3O8, and a through-put of 3,500 tonnes per day over a 15 year mine life, which will generate an average annual production rate of 3.0 million lbs U3O8, at a cost of US$23.22 per lb U3O8 or US$58.26 per tonne of ore. The initial capital cost of the project is projected to be approximately US$333 million. The above parameters yield a project internal rate of return ("IRR") after tax of 29.1% and a net present value (NPV) at a 10% discount rate of US$276 million. The after tax NPV at 10% using a uranium price of US$70 per lb U3O8 is US$339 million and the IRR after tax increases to 32.5%. (Marketwire - March 11)

Vancouver-based Western Prospector has announced an offer by CNNC International, a 74% owned subsidiary of CNNC Overseas Uranium Holding Ltd, itself a wholly owned unit of China National Nuclear Cooperation (CNNC), to buy all of its common shares in a deal worth about C$31 million ($25.3 million). Western Prospector has held since 2004 the Gurvanbulag deposit where extensive underground development work had been carried out at during the Soviet era. A definitive feasibility study on the project released earlier this year suggested that the mine could produce 700 tonnes of uranium per year over nine years at costs that would be economically viable, although it would cost about $280 million to develop the mine. The study suggested that production could start by January 2012 if the necessary government permits were in place by the end of May 2009. As well as working to develop uranium mining in China, Chinese organisations and companies are also involved in uranium exploration and mining efforts in other countries through cooperation agreements, joint ventures and equity investments in several Central Asian and African countries. CNNC has also commissioned Canadian company Sparton Resources to undertake advanced trials on leaching uranium from coal ash. (WNN, 26 March)



Namibia : Australian explorer, Extract Resources Limited - in which Rio Tinto plc is a 15% shareholder - says it expects to appoint engineering consultants within 2 weeks, for a feasibility study for its highly promising year-old Rossing South uranium discovery. the Company expects to have a total project resource of around 200 million pounds of uranium oxide for Rossing South within the next five months. (Mineweb, 16 March)

Perth-based Deep Yellow Limited has provided resource estimates of its wholly owned subsidiary Reptile Uranium for the Tumas project : for the scenario assuming one metre mining bench heights, the indicated and inferred mineral resource totals 10.0 million tonne at 0.0345% (345 ppm) U3O8 at a cut-off grade of 200 ppm U3O8 for 3,450 tonne or 7.6 million pounds of contained U3O8. The Tumas resource estimate will build on the existing Tubas inferred mineral resource of 77.3 million tonne of 0.0228% (228 ppm) U3O8 at a cut-off grade of 100 ppm U3O8 for 17,600 tonne or 38.8 million pounds of contained U3O8 as announced in November 2007. (Deep Yellow, 05 March)

Niger : Korea Resources Corp. has agreed to import uranium from Niger and will also acquire a 5 percent interest in a mine in the African nation to secure supplies for Korea’s nuclear power program. The state-controlled exploration company will import more than 400 tonnes, or about 10 percent of South Korea’s annual uranium requirements, beginning as early as the end of this year, Kang Shin Young, spokesman for the Seoul-based company, told Bloomberg today. In addition, Korea Resources plans to purchase 5 percent of a uranium mine in central Niger from Trendfield, a Chinese company, Kang said. The mine, which reportedly holds about 13,000 tons in reserves, is scheduled to begin production next year with initial output of 800 tons a year. Korea Resources plans to boost overseas investments in coal, uranium, and nickel projects by 42 percent this year to 270 billion won (US$195 million) as mines become cheap, it said in January. (TradeTech, March 20)

Nigeria : Rosatom, of Russia, has signed an accord with Nigeria calling for bilateral cooperation on the development of nuclear energy infrastructure, including on nuclear power plants, research reactors and joint prospecting and development of uranium deposits in Nigeria. (WNN, 19 March)



Peru : Toronto-based Macusani Yellowcake Inc. has signed a letter of intent with RAM Resources Limited of Perth (formerly Contact Uranium Limited) to acquire the Corachapi and Kihitian concessions on the Macusani Plateau in south-eastern Peru. The concessions are located near Macusani’s other concessions in the northeastern portion of the Macusani Plateau where the majority of uranium exploration has been carried out by several companies. (TradeTech, 06 March)

Russia : EDF, the world's biggest nuclear-power producer, held talks on taking part in developing the Elkonsky uranium deposit, Russia's largest untapped source of uranium, located in Russia's Far East. Rosatom's mining unit, uranium holding ARMZ, said last year that it would cost 90 billion rubles ($2.5 billion) to develop Elkonsky, which could produce 5,000 tons of uranium per year. The state corporation plans to form a group of investors to develop the deposit, with the government retaining a controlling stake in the project. (The Moscow Times, 26 Feb)


The Litsevskoye uranium field, located in the south-western parts of the Khibiny tundra of the central parts of the Kola Peninsula, is one of 135 uranium fields that the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources have declared to be federal important mineral resources. The fields are to be sold on auctions by the Russian government. (BarentsObserver, March 09)

Slovakia : Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) has canceled its involvement in Tournigan Energy’s Kurisokva uranium exploration project due to a change in corporate strategy and lower uranium prices. KEPCO had last week dropped its investment in Yellowcake Mining’s Uravan-Beck exploration project in Colorado, but pursues uranium mining investments in development or production stages in Australia, South Africa, and Kazakhstan (TradeTech, 06 March)

South Africa : Uranium One wrote down mineral properties and equipment by US$2.4 billion last year, including $1.3 billion on its Dominion mine in South Africa that was placed on care and maintenance in October. The Dominion mine could be sold and potential buyers are looking at it and a due diligence investigation is under way, CEO Jean Nortier said this week. The write down also included $1 billion on US properties and $0.1 billion on exploration at the company’s Honeymoon and other Australian properties. The company reported uranium production during 2008 of nearly 2.9 million pounds U3O8, which was a 41 percent increase compared to the previous year. Sales volume last year totaled about 2.2 million pounds U3O8, which was a 37 percent increase over 2007. Uranium One expects production to increase 22 percent in 2009 to 3.5 million pounds U3O8, driven by increased output from its joint venture operations in Kazakhstan. It expects capital expenditures of $21 million this year for development of property in Wyoming and $6 million toward the costs of building a sulphuric acid plant in Kazakhstan. (TradeTech, March 20)

Tunisia : The National Commission for Atomic Energy (CNEA) met to review skills training and security measures to be taken in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Tunisia produces 8 million tonnes of phosphate merchant, which is the 5th largest in the world in producing countries. 85% of the production are valued, notably in the factory of the Skhira, producing more than 375,000 tons of phosphoric acid per year. The Groupe Chimique Tunisien (GCT) of Gabès announced the launching of several projects by 2011, including a draft production unit of phosphoric acid with a capacity of 400 tonnes per day. The uranium can be recovered from phosphoric acid. (Tunisiamag, 02 March)



USA : Vancouver-based Bluerock Resources has pulled out of a toll milling and ore purchase agreement with Denison Mines saying that it is unable to meet its obligations under the agreement due to current market conditions. The agreement was signed by Bluerock and Denison for toll milling at Denison's White Mesa mill in January 2008. Under the agreement, Bluerock was to deliver 25,000 tonnes of ore per year into Denison's ore purchase program. Subsequent ore deliveries were to be stockpiled at the White Mesa mill and processed under a toll milling agreement. Now Bluerock says that it will attempt to restructure its business interests in the light of "continuing negative economic and market conditions," and says it intends to continue operating as a mineral exploration company. Denison's White Mesa mill is currently the only conventional uranium mill operating in the USA. (WNN, 17 March)

Denison Mines Corp announced it will temporarily suspend production at its Sunday and Rim mines, and will likely shut down its White Mesa mill in May, once it produces the 500,000 pounds of uranium the company is under contract to produce this year. The mill would be expected to restart next year. During the fourth quarter, Denison announced it would also suspend production at its Tony M mine in Utah. Denison’s uranium sales from US production for the 2008 year were 920,000 pounds U3O8, at an average price of $67.27 per pound. (TradeTech, March 20)



Powertech Uranium Corp. has submitted to the US.NRC a uranium recovery license which would allow Powertech to construct and operate the planned Dewey-Burdock in-situ (ISL) uranium project in Fall River and Custer counties, South Dakota. Powertech plans to submit a large-scale mine application to the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources within the next two to three weeks. (TradeTech, 28 Feb.)

Energy Fuels Inc. has acquired drill hole data that relates to a lease tract contiguous with Energy Fuels’ HC Claim block in Mesa County, Colorado, about 10 miles east of its Whirlwind mine. Data acquired includes survey control for about 180 drill holes, and defines a mineralized resource. (TradeTech, 28 Feb.)

Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) has signed an option and joint venture agreement with Uran Limited of Perth, Australia, on the company’s Grants Ridge uranium project in New Mexico. Uran, which completed due diligence work on the project last month, can earn a 65 percent interest in the project from UEC over a five-year option period with an initial cash payment of US$75,000, plus incurring exploration expenditures of $1.5 million, including completion of a feasibility study. The Grants Ridge project, located in the Grants Mineral Belt, includes nine historic mines that operated prior to and during the early 1980s. The project targets the Todilto Limestone, which hosts numerous historic underground and open-pit mines with grades ranging from 0.18 to 0.38% U3O8, with an average mined grade of 0.20% U3O8. Drilling is scheduled to begin in late 2009, subject to approval of the exploration permit. (TradeTech, March 20)



Transport Logistics International (TLI) has announced plans to open a new US facility to store uranium for the nuclear fuel cycle. The new facility, which the company expects to open in April, will be located at the Paducah, McCracken County Riverport and will be licensed for both short- and long-term storage of U3O8 and UF6. The facility, which is located just miles from both conversion and enrichment centers, will store material that is awaiting processing, being held in account, or destined for export, according to TLI. (TradeTech, March 20)



Denison Mines Corp. has reported updated NI 43-101 resource estimates for its Tony M and Southwest deposits, which raises indicated resources to 8.1 million pounds U3O8 and inferred resources to 2.8 million pounds U3O8. The deposits are part of the Henry Mountains Complex in southeastern Utah, which also include Denison’s Indian Bench and Copper Bench deposits that are part of the Bullfrog property, which contains indicated resources of 4.7 million pounds U3O8 and inferred resources of 5.3 million pounds at a cut-off grade of 0.20% U3O8. Denison has invested about US$50 million in the Tony M mine and construction of surface facilities. The company began operations at Tony M in September 2007, but put the mine on standby in November 2008. (TradeTech, 27 March)



A Virginia panel has approved a study on opening the state to uranium mining. A subcommittee of the Coal and Energy Commission this week approved a tentative outline of the study by the National Academy of Science, which would focus on safety, environmental, and health concerns. A separate study of the financial and economic impact of mining is also planned. Uranium mining has been banned in Virginia since 1982, but increased interest in nuclear power expansion has led two families in Pittsylvania County to pursue mining of the Coles Hills deposit, which is one of the USA’s largest untapped uranium resources . (TradeTech, 27 March)



Zambia : Toronto-based Denison Mines Corp. reported a NI 43-101 resource estimate on its Mutanga project. Measured and indicated resources are estimated at 2.0 and 5.8 million pounds U3O8 respectively and inferred resources exceed 13 million pounds U3O8. Engineering work is now in progress for the preparation and completion of a definitive feasibility study, currently scheduled for a target date of April, 2009 and submittal of a mining licence application. Earlier scoping studies indicate the potential for a relatively low cost, open pit mining operation utilizing alkali leach processing for extraction. (Marketwire - March 12)

Zambezi Resources has announced that Rio Tinto Mining and Exploration has withdrawn from the Mulofwe Uranium Joint Venture. According to Zambezi, Rio's withdrawal from the Zambian project as it changes its focus onto a "a few core projects" due to budget cuts across the company. As of 16 March, Zambezi Resources had suspended its securities from official quotation pending a company announcement. (WNN, 17 March)



World : On 27 March, the TradeTech’s uranium spot price indicator is 42.25 US$/lbU3O8, down 4.75 US$/lbU3O8 from last month value.

[energy_isere]

Les Russes expédient du "combustible" nucléaire aux US. Correspond à l' accord de transformation des tétes nucléaires en combustible nucléaire.

Russia makes year's first uranium shipment to U.S.

RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, April 8

Russia's Techsnabexport shipped on April 7 the first batch of low-enriched uranium to the United States in 2009 under a bilateral agreement, nuclear-power corporation Atomenergoprom said on Wednesday.

Techsnabexport, a Russian company that exports goods and services produced by the nuclear power sector, is integrated into Atomenergoprom.

"This shipment has initiated the schedule of deliveries in 2009, which will be carried out at a new price approved by the governments of both countries," Atomenergoprom said in a statement.

Russia and the United States are cooperating in the nuclear sphere on the HEU-LEU project. The HEU-LEU contract, also known as the Megatons to Megawatts agreement, was signed in February 1993 and expires in 2013.

It aims to convert 500 metric tons of high-enriched uranium (HEU), the equivalent of approximately 20,000 nuclear warheads, from dismantled Russian nuclear weapons into low-enriched uranium (LEU), which is then converted into nuclear fuel for use in U.S. commercial reactors.

[energy_isere]

Un truc rigolo, Lehman Brothers (qui a fait faillite en 2008) , possédait dans sa casette 227 tonnes d' Uranium, et qu' elle va devoir vendre.
Petites perturbation du marché en vue.
http://www.lefigaro.fr/matieres-premier ... thers-.php

[energy_isere]

La sécurité énergétique est l’affaire de l’Etat, pas du marché : La Chine accorde 650 millions de yuans au Niger pour un projet d’exploitation d’uranium

mercredi 29 avril 2009

Le gouvernement nigérien réuni en conseil des ministres, jeudi, sous l’égide du chef de l’Etat Mamadou Tandja, a adopté un projet de loi autorisant la ratification de l’accord cadre entre le Niger et la Chine, relatif à l’octroi d’un prêt préférentiel par la Chine, signé en mars dernier à Niamey.

Aux termes de l’accord objet du présent projet de loi, le gouvernement de la République Populaire de Chine consent à ce que la Banque d’IMPORT-EXPORT de Chine accorde au gouvernement nigérien, un prêt préférentiel d’un montant d’environ 650 millions de yuans dans le but d’apporter son soutien au projet d’exploitation d’uranium de la société des mines d’Azelik (SOMINA) au Niger.

Sources Xinhua

[krolik]

Voici le résumé de ce qui s'est passé dans le monde, en ce mois d'avril 2009, dans le domaine de l'uranium.
Je vous avais mis Mars également. Si certains manifestent un intérêt pour ce genre d'information, vous m'envoyez un MP et je vous donne le moyen de vous abonner à cette "lettre" gratuite personnellement. Mais je ne veux pas envahir le forum avec des infos qui peuvent paraître absconses à une majorité.

@+


April 2009




Argentina : Reno-based Urex Energy Corp. reported that Directors of the company met with representatives of Areva NC to discuss Urex’s uranium properties in southern Argentina. Areva is investigating options regarding uranium resources in southern Argentina and is in cooperation with various owners including Urex to support a potential central process facility. A minimum mineable uranium reserve necessary to support such a process facility is estimated at 22 million pounds of eU3O8. The concept is that the mining of a number of satellite uranium ore bodies, controlled by different owners, would provide uranium ore feed to the central milling facility. Urex is conducting uranium exploration in the Chubut Province adjacent to Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica’s (CNEA) Cerro Solo uranium deposit, which contains 10 million pounds of eU3O8. During the 2008 exploration season Urex completed 88 drill holes totaling 7624 meters on 5 areas within the Cerro Solo district and discovered significant and potentially economic uranium mineralization. (Urex, 24 March)

Australia : Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. (ERA) recorded a net profit after tax of A$221.8 million (US$155.4 million) for the year ended December 31 2008, compared with $76.1 million (US$53.3 million) for 2007. Underlying earnings were $119 million (US$83.4 million), as ERA received a substantial insurance settlement in December, due to significant property damage and business interruptions caused by the acid plant failure and Cyclone Monica in 2006 and the extreme rainfall event in late February 2007. Sales for the year were 5,272 tonnes (11.6 million pounds U3O8), compared to 5,324 tonnes (11.7 million pounds U3O8) in 2007. Revenue from U3O8 sales for the year was $495.6 million (US$347.3 million), compared to $356.5million (US$249.8 million) in 2007. A total of 5,339 tonnes U3O8 (11.8 million pounds U3O8) was produced last year, the third highest production output on record and in line with production from 2007 of 5,412 tonnes (11.9 million pounds U3O8). Production in the second half of the year was 27 percent higher than the first half as grade improved significantly once access to higher-grade ore at the bottom of the pit was restored by mid-year. Last year, ERA continued exploration of the Ranger Project Area with exploration expenditure increasing to $15.6 million (US$10.9 million), up from $14.1 million (US$9.9 million) in 2007. Drilling focused on extensions of the Ranger 3 orebody, adjacent to and to the east of the operating pit to test northern extensions of the previously drilled mineralization at Ranger 3 Deeps. This area and other near mine targets will form the focus of exploration during 2009, according to ERA. The company reported a 128 percent increase in the Ranger resource from 51,000 to 115,000 tonnes U3O8, which resulted from the Ranger 3 Deeps exploration program, lowering of the cut-off grade from 0.08 to 0.02 percent U3O8 for material that has the potential to be mined by open-pit operations and a detailed review of the Ranger resource model. (TradeTech, 27 March)

The market is awaiting the release of BHP Billiton's environmental impact statement providing details on its proposed expansion of Olympic Dam. But having slashed 200 jobs at the mooted $US15 billion ($21.4 billion) project earlier this year, there are doubts the staged expansion will proceed on schedule even if all of the regulatory approvals are in place. BHP expects it will take five years to build a huge open-cut mine at the site, which will provide a boost to underperforming underground operations. The statement, which will be subject to public review, only discusses an open-cut option, BHP having long ago abandoned a WMC Resources study into a large underground block cave operation. BHP tends to prefer open-cut mining. Unlike its rivals Rio Tinto and Newcrest Mining, it has not developed expertise in cheap bulk mining methods for underground deposits. It is said the economics of the expansion would depend on the uranium price. Barring that, Olympic Dam is simply a high-cost copper mine. (Sydney Morning Herald, 29 April)

Construction has begun on the Honeymoon project, South Australia's third uranium mine. The uranium mine will also be the fourth in Australia. Preparatory work at in SA's far north-east will continue until the middle of next year, with mining to start after that. South Australian Premier Mike Rann says the start of construction comes almost two years to the day since the Labor Party scrapped its no new uranium mines policy. (ABC News April 24)

The Mount Isa Joint Venture including Paladin Energy Ltd (50%) and Summit Resources (Aust) Pty Ltd (50%) Operator, reports that resource drilling at Valhalla was completed in late October 2008 and a new resource estimate was compiled and announced in the previous quarterly report. A short drilling program at Skal was completed in December 2008 and a new resource estimate has now been completed. The Environmental Baseline Study is continuing. Late in the quarter resource definition drilling was recommenced at Valhalla following a protracted wet season. The total JORC Resources under Summit and Paladin management in the Mount Isa region now 55.4Mlb U3O8 Measured and Indicated Resources and 51.2Mlb U3O8 Inferred Resources. 68% of the Mineral Resources are located at Valhalla; the rest is distributed over Bikini, Skal, Andersons, Watta, Duke Batman and Honey Pot. (Paladin, 23 April)

Toronto-based Laramide Resources Ltd. reports results of an updated NI 43-101 compliant Technical Report completed by Mining Associates of Australia (“Mining Associates”) on its Westmoreland uranium property located in North West Queensland. The results are as follows : indicated resource is 16.4 kt U3O8 at 0.088%U3O8 and inferred resource is 7.2 ktU3O8 at 0.08 %U3O8. (Marketwire, April 23)

Cameco Corporation announced that it has opened an office in Perth to operate the joint venture comprised of Cameco (70%) and Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd. (30%) that acquired the Kintyre project from Rio Tinto in August 2008. Kintyre is an advanced exploration project located approximately 1,600 kilometres NE of Perth in the East Pilbara region of Western Australia. Cameco will continue to work closely with the Martu people, the Native Title holder, toward advancing the Kintyre project for the benefit of all stakeholders. Cameco Australia has been actively exploring in Australia since 1996 and has exploration licences for more than 795,000 hectares of land in Western Australia (some proximate to the Kintyre deposits), plus projects in South Australia and the Northern Territory. (Cameco, April 06)

Adelaide-based Toro Energy Ltd. has commences resource drilling at its 100%-owned Wiluna Uranium Project, comprising the Lake Way and Centipede shallow uranium deposits, located 10 and 20kms south of the township of Wiluna, with a current combined Inferred and Indicated Resource of 24 million pounds of uranium at 419 ppm U308. The Centipede Lease is one of only a few currently granted mining leases for uranium over an economic deposit in Western Australia. (Toro, March 30)

Perth-based Impact Minerals, which is majority holder of the deposit’s uranium resources, is considering development and ownership options for the Nowthanna site in order to speed up the start of commercial operations. Nowthanna is a calcrete-hosted uranium deposit located 70 km southeast of Meekatharra in Western Australia. The project in part straddles the boundary between Impact’s 100 per cent owned Quinns Lake uranium project and the 20 per cent owned Yarrabubba project, which is in joint venture between CITIC Nickel Australia (60 per cent) and other individuals (20 per cent). At a cut-off grade of 0.2 kg/t (200 ppm) uranium oxide, the Nowthanna deposit contains about 10 million tonnes of uranium oxide at an average grade of 0.45 kg/t (450 ppm), for a contained 4,600 tonnes or 10 million pounds of uranium oxide. The ownership structure gives Impact a net entitlement to 40 per cent of the JORC compliant Inferred Resource. A scoping study would provide early direction on whether Nowthanna’s oxide resource could be treated via a mobile or a central processing plant. The review process for Nowthanna’s immediate future and on-ground work programs had to take into account the recent Mega Uranium transaction on another nearby WA calcrete-hosted uranium project Lake Maitland. Under that deal, Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Mega Uranium agreed to farm-out 35 per cent of its Lake Maitland uranium deposit for US$49 million to a consortium of Japanese nuclear power production companies. (PerthNow, April 09)

A panel discussed advantages and disadvantages of the Australian nuclear industry. On the positive side, Australian politics is stable and there is active oversight of the uranium industry, which has sound geology. The panel noted that an important aspect of Australia’s uranium mining sector is its respect for local sensitivities as they contribute to building positive relationships with the Aboriginal communities whose properties potentially contain uranium. Nonetheless, the panel realized that better education is needed to further the public’s understanding of uranium and nuclear power. Finally, the panel concluded that it will take time and patience for the necessary policy changes that will allow Australia to take full advantage of its resources. (TradeTech, 24 April)

Canada : An expert panel has submitted a report entitled “Capturing the Full Potential of the Uranium Value Chain in Saskatchewan” to the government of Saskatchewan, making 20 recommendations on developing the Canadian province's nuclear industry. The report suggests that the province should focus on further exploration and mining of uranium, as well as more research and development. It specifically discourages Saskatchewan from pursuing two value-added ventures related to uranium: the production of reactor fuel and the conversion of uranium ore. It says that market conditions make those activities not worth investing in. Last month, the Saskatchewan government entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation with the US Department of Energy's (DoE's) Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The MoU provides a mechanism for the Saskatchewan government and INL to consider research and development projects on a variety of energy sources and resources, including uranium, nuclear energy, heavy oil, oil shale and oil sands. The agreement also provides for potential collaboration on carbon dioxide capture and storage projects. (WNN, 06 April)

Denison Mines Corp. agreed to sell a 19.9 percent stake in the company to Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) for C$75.4 million ($62.1 million) and an offtake agreement will allow to supply the utility with uranium until 2015. Korea Electric, South Korea’s largest utility, will have the right to appoint two directors to Denison’s board. Today’s agreement also allows parties nominated by Denison Chairman Lukas Lundin to buy an additional 15 million shares for C$19.5 million, Denison said in the statement. Seoul-based Korea Electric and other power companies in Asia are stepping up efforts to lock in supplies of uranium amid concern about future shortages. China is urging its companies to acquire foreign supplies of uranium reserves as the country expands its nuclear- generating capacity, an official of China’s National Energy Administration said last month. Last month Denison said it temporarily idled two of its U.S. mines as the price of uranium for immediate delivery fell. Denison, which halted output at two other U.S. mines late last year, was in danger of breaching its debt covenants. (Bloomberg, April 14)

The offtake agreement will provide for deliveries commencing in 2010 with minimum deliveries of 690,000 pounds U3O8 (315 tonnes U3O8) annually between 2010 and 2015. Under the agreement, the purchase price of the uranium that KEPCO buys from Denison will be on "industry standard terms." Denison has pointed out that KEPCO will buy the specified minimum amount of its uranium between 2010 and 2015, and then 20% in subsequent years. (WNN, 15 April)


Denison Mines Corp. announced the discovery of additional high grade uranium mineralization approximately 300 metres to the northeast from the initial high-grade zone discovered and reported earlier in the winter, at the Wheeler River project in northern Saskatchewan. The Wheeler River project is a joint venture among Denison (60%), Cameco Corp. (30%) and JCU (Canada) Exploration Company, Limited (10%). This project is located in the rich Athabasca Basin near the MacArthur River mine and has many geological similarities to the McArthur River mineralization, but at a shallower depth. The strike length of the uranium mineralization is defined to date over a length of 90 metres and is completely untested to the northeast and open along strike to the southwest. Three holes were spotted at a -80 dip and intersected massive and semi-massive pitchblende. Results from these holes are : 15.5% eU3O8 over 2.9 metres from a depth of 408.2 metres; 12.8% eU3O8 over 2.4 metres from 409.5 metres and 2.7% eU3O8 over 0.5 metres from 416.9 metres; 9.8% eU3O8 over 1.5 metres from 407.8 metres and 2.1% over 1.1 m from 416.0 m. (Marketwire - April 02)
Vancouver-based Pitchstone Exploration Ltd. reports additional results from the winter drilling program on its 100% owned Gumboot property which is located about 20 kilometers NW of Cameco’s Cigar Lake uranium deposit in the eastern Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan. All five holes that have tested the conductive target have intersected a thick zone of moderate to intense alteration and associated mineralization in proximity to the Athabasca unconformity. Less than 5% of the conductive zone has been tested and assays reached up to 2.06% U3O8. (Marketwire - March 30)

Denison Mines Corp. reported the discovery of additional high-grade uranium mineralization at the Wheeler River project in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin. The area is about 300 meters to the northeast from the initial high-grade zone reported earlier in the winter. Three drill holes returned mineralization of 2.1 to 15.5 percent U3O8 during the winter season. Denison’s technical staff believes this new area may be an extension of the initial high-grade zone as the area between the zones has not been adequately drill tested. The Wheeler River project is located near the McArthur River mine and is a joint venture among Denison (60%), Cameco Corp. (30%) and JCU (Canada) Exploration Company, Limited (10%). Denison will recommend a summer drill program that will focus on infill drilling the high-grade zone discovered to date. (TradeTech, April 10)

Montreal-based Big Red Diamond Corp. will issue 1.5 million common shares to AntOro Resources Inc. and complete the acquisition of a 50 percent interest in two uranium properties in Quebec that AntOro Resources has under option. The option agreement, which was originally signed on October 31, 2006, calls for Big Red Diamond to issue shares to AntOro Resources, as well as contribute to 50 percent of the cash progress payments and 50 percent of the exploration expenses to be incurred by the companies on the properties. In order to acquire a 100 percent interest in both properties, the partners must spend C$600,000 (US$487,000) in work commitments before March 31, 2011. The properties include Andy Lake, located directly east and contiguous to Nova Uranium’s Mont-Laurier uranium property, and Maro, which is 70 kilometers (44 miles) east of Radisson, Quebec, on an island along the shore of the Robert-Bourassa hydroelectric reservoir. It offers a high exploration potential based on previous sample results. (TradeTech, April 10)

Pitchstone Exploration Ltd. and Denison Mines Corp. have signed an agreement that grants Pitchstone the right to earn up to a 75 percent interest in Denison’s Johnston Lake property in the eastern Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan. The Johnston Lake property comprises four claims totaling 15,666 hectares, three of which are contiguous with Pitchstone’s Gumboot property. Results reported by previous owners include assays up to 0.27% U3O8 over 0.5 meter, as well as concentrations of nickel, cobalt, lead, and gold. (TradeTech, 27 March)

Phase two drilling at Titan Uranium’s Border Block project has returned results from two drill holes (995 meters) that indicate elements typically found near unconformity-type uranium mineralization in the Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan. The project also involves an option for Japan, Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) to earn a 50 percent interest in the project by funding C$6 million (US$4.8 million) in exploration over four years. The Border Rock project is located in the southwestern area of the Athabasca Basin, near the Alberta border and comprises the Maybelle River, Gartner Lake, King and Castle South Extension properties. Basement rocks in this area are thought to be correlative with those found on the adjacent AREVA/UEX Corp.’s Shea Creek project. (TradeTech, 03 April)


Kazakhstan : The government of Kazakhstan has announced that the state holding company Samruk-Kazyna, parent company for several state-controlled companies, including nuclear energy entity KazAtomProm, is expected to reduce its workforce by one-half and cut salaries by an average of 30 percent. (TradeTech, 03 April)

Kazakhstan's newest in-situ leach (ISL) uranium mine, Kharasan-1, has been officially opened at a ceremony attended by Kazakh, Japanese and Canadian dignitaries. The mine is expected to produce 180 tonnes of uranium in 2009, reaching its full capacity of 3000 tonnes of uranium per year in 2014. It is expected to operate until 2053. The mine has taken three years to build and is operated by LLP Kyzylkum, which is in turn owned by Kazakshtan's national atomic company KazAtomProm (30%), a consortium of Japanese power companies (Tepco, Marubeni, Toshiba, Chubu Electric, Tohoku Electric and Kysushu Electric, between them holding 40%), and Canadian uranium company Uranium One (30%). A total of $432 million has been invested in the project to date. Kharasan-1 is the northernmost of two uranium deposits at Kharasan, and according to Kazatomprom has been difficult to develop thanks to its situation on the bank of the Syr-Darya river in a remote, undeveloped desert area. Work has also begun on the construction of a 500,000 tonnes per year sulphuric acid plant. Kazakhstan has some 15% of the world's uranium resources and is a major producer of uranium, third behind Canada and Australia in terms of production. Its 2008 output of 8521 tonnes was 28% up on 2007's production of 6637 tonnes, and it has ambitious plans to increase its uranium output to 15,000 tonnes per annum by 2010. (WNN, 27 April)

KazAtomProm has held an opening ceremony for the Irkol mine, the first uranium mine to come into operation within the framework of a cooperation agreement on nuclear power between Kazakhstan and China. The opening comes only days after the Kharasan-1 project, for which KazAtomProm linked up with Japanese and Canadian companies, was formally opened. The Irkol in-situ leach (ISL) project is expected to reach its production capacity of 750 tonnes of uranium per year within 12 months, with plans for 500 tonnes to be produced in 2009. The mine is forecast to operate for 25 years. It is operated by the Semizbai-U joint venture under a 2008 strategic partnership agreement between Kazakh national atomic company KazAtomProm and the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co (CGNPC). Semizbai-U is 49% owned by CGNPC, with Kazatomprom holding the remaining 51%. (WNN, 28 April)

Malawi : Paladin Energy Ltd. reported on April 6 that a second subcontractor at its Kayelekera uranium project in Malawi succumbed to injuries received in a flash fire at project construction site on March 16. The injured man, a 29-year-old Malawi national, died in a Johannesburg, South Africa hospital on April 3. A third man, age 36, remains in a stable but serious condition in Milpark Hospital’s Special Burns Unit. Paladin’s Managing Director/CEO John Borshoff stated that an inquiry into the circumstances of the accident is on-going. (TradeTech, April 10)
Paladin Energy made an announcement that the President of the country, Bingu wa Mutharika, attended the opening of the Kayelekera mine, which should eventually produce 1400 tonnes of uranium per year. Paladin owns 85% of the project, which has cost around $200 million to develop. The deposit is open to the west, where exploration continues, but 11,265 tonnes of uranium are already classified as reserves to a cut-off grade of 0.04% compliant with the JORC and NI 43-101 standards. Overall there are 15,000 tonnes of uranium as measured and indicated resources at an average grade of 0.08% uranium. The mine has been successfully commissioned, Paladin said, "with the plant showing full capability to operate throughout its flowsheet with yellowcake produced during this phase." The mine outside of Karonga town will contribute 20% of Malawi export earnings and 10% of the gross national product (GNP). Malawi currently depends on agriculture, especially tobacco, which accounts for about 70% of foreign exchange earnings. The country is also endowed with bauxite, emeralds and traces of diamonds. Malawi has huge bauxite deposits on Mulanje Mountain in the south, but despite deepening poverty, has never made any serious attempts to mine it. Paladin already operates the Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia, which started production in January 2007. The company has previously said that total cumulative production from the Langer Heinrich and Kayelekera mines will be some 14,060 tonnes uranium oxide (11,925 tonnes of uranium) by the end of 2012. (WNA, 22 April)

Paladin Energy is finalizing a third sales contract for its Kayelekera project, which commits the Malawi project to deliver 860,000 pounds U3O8 to a North American utility in 2012-2013 at a sales price that reflects the current long-term uranium price. Commissioning of the Kayelekera project began during the quarter and production ramp-up is scheduled to start in April. The mine was officially opened on April 17. Due to minor delays at Langer Heinrich and Kayelekera, Paladin has adjusted slightly its production target for the fiscal year ending June 30, to 3.0-3.1 million pounds U3O8, as compared to the previous forecast of 3.35 million pounds. (TradeTech, 24 April)

Mongolia : Western Prospector Group Ltd., which holds uranium properties in Mongolia, has agreed to be acquired by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CNNC International Ltd. for about C$31 million (US$25.2 million). Western Prospector owns the Saddle Hills uranium project in eastern Mongolia, which includes 11 exploration licenses that cover about 148,600 hectares. The company owns mineral rights to seven known uranium deposits and additional exploration targets. CNNC is China’s state-controlled uranium development and nuclear company. (TradeTech, 27 March)


Namibia : Paladin Energy 100% owned Langer Heinrich exceeded nameplate design production for the third consecutive full quarter with 685,874lb U3O8 produced versus 650,000lb for nameplate (i.e. 5.5% above design). For the second consecutive quarter Langer Heinrich achieved a new record crushed tonnes of 425,030t (design 375,000t) with an average run of mine grade of 1,017ppm U3O8. (Paladin, 23 April)

Paladin Energy reported this week that production at its Langer Heinrich project in Namibia exceeded nameplate design production for the third consecutive quarter with 685,874 pounds U3O8 produced, compared to the 650,000 pound capacity. Sales for the third quarter ended March 31, 2009, totaled 453,000 pounds U3O8, and were valued at at US$24.7 million at an average sales price of $54.50 per pound U3O8. Due to minor delays at Langer Heinrich and Kayelekera, Paladin has adjusted slightly its production target for the fiscal year ending June 30, to 3.0-3.1 million pounds U3O8, as compared to the previous forecast of 3.35 million pounds. (TradeTech, 24 April)

Kalahari Minerals said "Rössing South is the highest grade granite hosted uranium deposit in Namibia and that it continues to evolve into one of the largest uranium deposits in the world." The latest drilling results, announced by Extract Resources, in which Kalahari has a 38.6% stake, are adding some excellent data to what is already an extremely impressive potential resource, located just to the south of Rio Tinto's Rössing uranium mine. Good intersection thicknesses in massive high grade alaskite are varying in grade between 485 ppm and 3,920 ppm. The defined NI 43-101 resource at Rössing South has already been estimated at 108 million lbs of U3O8 at a grade of 430 ppm using a cut-off of 100 ppm, which is in excess of the size and grade at Rio Tinto's Rossing operation. (Mineweb 27 April)

Australia’s Extract Resources Ltd. has begun a feasibility study on the Rössing South uranium project in Namibia. Recent drilling at the Rössing South project has drawn attention from Rio Tinto, which owns the nearby Rössing uranium mine and last year acquired stakes in Extract and Kalahari Minerals (which owns a 38.85% interest in Extract). Rio has reportedly talked to shareholders of the two companies to gain support for a joint venture for Rössing South. However, talks stalled as shareholders do not want the project to be undervalued before completion of the feasibility study. (TradeTech, 03 April)

Drilling by Deep Yellow Ltd’s wholly owned subsidiary Reptile Uranium Namibia PTY Ltd (Reptile) at the Inca Project located near to Swakopmund has returned wide intersections of uranium mineralisation of around one pound (450 ppm) U3O8 or better at ±200 metre depth including exceptionally high grades of up to 3.2% U3O8 over 2 metre in hole INCR150. The style of mineralisation at Inca is being classified as a metasomatic–magnetite skarn type which is distinct and different from the known lower grade alaskite hosted uranium mineralization found by other operators. (Deep Yellow, 23 April)

Vancouver-based, Xemplar Energy Corp. reported the results for a further 12 drill holes from the 2008 drill program on the Warmbad Uranium project. Xemplar has identified 8 zones of Rössing-style uranium mineralization. Diamond drill core from Aluriesfontein Area 3 has encountered 92 metres of uranium mineralization with aggregate U3O8 grades greater than 100 ppm, including a width of 41 metres grading 160.5 ppm (0.016% U3O8) and with one metre sections with U3O8 mineralization as high as 609 ppm. Through Namura Mineral Resources Pty., its wholly-owned Windhoek-based subsidiary, Xemplar currently holds Exploration Prospecting Licenses for the Cape Cross, Aus, Garub and Warmbad properties totaling almost 7,500 square kilometers. (Xemplar, March 30)

Niger : China has granted Niger a $95 million preferential loan to boost a uranium mining project the two countries have in the West African state, Niger's government said late on Thursday. Niger's government is a 33% joint venture partner with the China National Uranium Corporation(CNUC) in the Somina uranium mining operation, due to come on line by 2010, with an annual output of about 700 tonnes. The entry into Niger of Chinese miners and Cameco Corp that now has a stake in GoviEx, a company with local exploration rights, follows years of dominance by French nuclear group Areva. (Reuters, April 25)

China has granted Niger a US$95 million loan to boost a uranium mining project in the West African nation. Niger will pay 2% interest on the loan, which must be repaid within 15 years, according to government sources. China has committed to investing about $300 million in the Azelik project, which is owned by Societe des Mines d’Azelik SA, a joint venture established in 2007 by SinoU (37.2%), the Niger government (33%), China’s ZXJOY Invest (24.8%), and Trendfield Holdings Ltd. (5%). Parent company Trendfield Energy and Resources is reportedly a China-based “private international mining and consulting firm.” The project is scheduled to begin producing by 2010, with an annual output of about 700 tonnes (1.8 million pounds U3O8). (TradeTech, 24 April)

Russian Federation : AtomRedMetZoloto (ARMZ), Russia's leading uranium producer, said its uranium output had increased 4.5%, year-on-year, in January-March 2009 to 849 metric tons. ARMZ manages all of Russia's uranium mining assets and also participates in production in the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan. The company is developing cooperation with Armenia, Canada, Mongolia, Namibia and Ukraine. It is owned by Atomenergoprom, which is part of Rosatom nuclear energy state corporation. ARMZ aims to increase uranium production six-fold (up to 20,000 tons per year) by 2024 and become the world's leader for uranium mining. (RIA Novosti, 20 April)

AtomRedMetZoloto (ARMZ) reported on April 20 that uranium output for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009, was 840 tonnes (1.87 million pounds U3O8)—an increase of 4.5% compared to the same period last year. ARMZ manages all of Russia’s uranium mining assets. The entity is now owned by Atomenergoprom, which is part of Rosatom, the state-controlled nuclear energy company. ARMZ aims to increase uranium production six-fold (up to 20,000 tonnes annually) by 2024, according to an RIA Novosti report this week. (TradeTech, 24 April)

South Africa : Uranium One, Inc. said last week that it has several groups that are interested in its Dominion uranium mine, which was placed on care and maintenance since last October. Johannesburg-based Financial Mail reported that a group including Mvelphanda Resources Ltd. and JIC Mining Services’ CEOs was looking at the mine. Uranium One closed the Dominion operation last year to “focus on low-cost assets” as uranium prices weakened, and said it would possibly seek a buyer for the operation. (TradeTech, 31 March)

Spain : Berkeley Resources Limited reported today that the Co-operation Agreement with Enusa Industrias Avanzadas SA has been approved by the Spanish Council of Ministers on Friday 24 April. This allows Berkeley to make the initial deposit of euro 5 million for the Enusa assets; Enusa's historical database for the Salamanca State Reserves and the Quercus uranium processing plant to be acquired; a feasibility study on the Salamanca Uranium Project that will take eighteen months to complete, will start; as announced on 23 March 2009, the placements and rights issue will be undertaken. (Comtex, April 27)

Sweden : Aura Energy holds several high grade uranium prospects in Sweden with projects at Stripa, Hakantorp and Virka. Aura has now received assays from samples collected in 2008 at its recently acquired Timansberg Project, 15 kilometres southwest of the Stripa Project. The mineralisation is associated with magnetite iron formations and altered carbonate rocks or skarns. Old iron workings extend for approximately 250 metres in this area, and geophysical data suggest that the mineralised horizon may extend for more than a kilometre in Aura’s permit. Assays of seven radiometrically anomalous samples from the waste dumps of the old iron mines at Timansberg indicate the high uranium contents of the mineralisation, with grades between 0.08 and 6.5% U3O8. (Mining News, April 21)

Vattenfall's environmental director defended the Swedish utility's uranium purchase from the Rössing mine in Namibia 17, after a critical report about the mining operations was aired on Swedish news program Aktuellt. Mine workers interviewed on the program said that the rate of cancer among workers is high and attributed it to their contact with uranium. The company recently agreed to an independent scientific study on the possible connection, something the mine workers union has long been asking for. In a statement, environmental director Agneta Rising said that Vattenfall sets strict standards for uranium suppliers, and ensures they are followed through on-site auditing. She added that the company does not take positions on the political situation in countries it buys from, but follows the guidelines of the United Nations and the Swedish Foreign Ministry. She added that the ministry has a program to increase trade between Sweden and Namibia and investment in the African country. (Platts, 18 March)

USA : Denison Mines Corp. has reported updated NI 43-101 resource estimates for its Tony M and Southwest deposits, which raises indicated resources to 8.1 million pounds U3O8 and inferred resources to 2.8 million pounds U3O8. The deposits are part of the Henry Mountains Complex in southeastern Utah, which also include Denison’s Indian Bench and Copper Bench deposits that are part of the Bullfrog property, which contains indicated resources of 4.7 million pounds U3O8 and inferred resources of 5.3 million pounds at a cut-off grade of 0.20% U3O8. Denison has invested about US$50 million in the Tony M mine and construction of surface facilities. The company began operations at Tony M in September 2007, but put the mine on standby in November 2008. (TradeTech, 27 March)

Toronto-based Energy Fuels Inc. and Magnum Uranium Corp. of Vancouver have signed a preliminary agreement providing for Energy Fuels to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Magnum Uranium in an all-share transaction. The merger will combine the two companies into “one of the largest conventional uranium mining company operating in the USA”. The combined company will hold 4.1 million pounds U3O8 measured and indicated resources, as well as 3.4 million pounds U3O8 inferred resources. Magnum’s NI 43-101 resources are located at a single location, the San Rafael property, which is near Energy Fuels’ planned Piñon Ridge mill in Colorado. (TradeTech, 31 March)

A Virginia panel has approved a study on opening the state to uranium mining. A subcommittee of the Coal and Energy Commission this week approved a tentative outline of the study by the National Academy of Science, which would focus on safety, environmental, and health concerns. A separate study of the financial and economic impact of mining is also planned. Uranium mining has been banned in Virginia since 1982, but increased interest in nuclear power expansion has led two families in Pittsylvania County to pursue mining of the Coles Hills deposit, which is one of the USA’s largest untapped uranium resources. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed an agreement with the commonwealth of Virginia, under which Virginia will assume the agency’s regulatory authority over certain nuclear materials in the state. The action marks Virginia as the thirty-sixth US state to sign an agreement with the NRC. The agreement, which becomes effective on March 31, calls for the NRC to transfer 386 licenses to the commonwealth’s jurisdiction. By law, NRC retains jurisdiction over commercial nuclear power plants and federal agencies using certain nuclear material in Virginia. (TradeTech, 27 March)


Cotter Corporation intends to refurbish its uranium mill in Colorado to process ore from a mine near Grants, New Mexico. The flooded Mount Taylor mine would have to be rehabilitated before mining operations could resume, but Cotter could begin receiving ore at its Cañon City mill as early as August 2014, depending on market conditions and regulatory approval, according to Vice President of Milling John Hamrick. The mill could add 50 jobs when it reopens for operation. The mill site was designated as a Superfund cleanup site in 1984 due to radioactive contamination and cleanup is ongoing. (TradeTech, April 10)

Toronto-based Energy Fuels Inc. is continuing its strategy of consolidating prospective uranium properties and recently acquired a block of 29 claims known as the RM/Judas Group (about 520 acres), from Mesa Uranium Corp. The claims are contiguous with the Energy Queen property on the west side, on trend with the Energy Queen mineralized zone, and immediately north of the Rattle Snake Mine, a historic uranium producer. Since acquiring the 700 acre Energy Queen Mine lease in December 2006, Energy Fuels has increased its resources in San Juan County, Utah, to more than 2,700 acres. The company is outlining exploration plans on the additional properties as budgets allow. (TradeTech, April 10)

A decision by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upholds a 2007 determination by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that certain land owned by URI subsidiary Hydro Resources Inc (HRI) in part of New Mexico known as the 'checkerboard' area is 'Indian country'. The land in question is uninhabited and lies about 11 miles from the city of Gallup and six miles from the Navajo town of Church Rock. It is near to but not actually part of the Navajo reservation. The ruling means that HRI's proposed in-situ leach uranium mine is subject to regulation by the EPA under the Safe Drinking Water Act rather than the New Mexico Department of the Environment (NMED). HRI had brought its appeal because NMED had already approved its request for an underground injection control (UIC) permit, a necessary requirement for an in-situ operation where uranium is removed from host rock by injecting chemicals to dissolve it and pumping the solution to the surface for treatment. The court recognised that the need for HRI to repeat the permitting process with the EPA could be both costly and disruptive for the company but upheld EPA's position nonetheless. HRI was licensed to mine the both the Crownpoint and Church Rock ISL deposits in New Mexico in 1994, and after years of opposition the licence was validated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2006. Earlier this year a subsidiary of Japanese trading company Itochu pulled out of a joint venture with HRI to develop Church Rock which according to URI hosts some 18.6 million pounds (7154 tU) of in-place mineralized uranium. URI, which has resources and active uranium projects in Texas as well as its resources in New Mexico, announced in December 2008 that it would be scaling back its projects this year unless the uranium market improved. (WNA, 20 April)

Researchers will study a range of minerals essential to the US economy and national security through grants awarded by the US Geological Survey (USGS). Grant recipients announced this week will study uranium, rare earth elements, copper, tungsten, and lithium. Funding was provided through the USGS Mineral Resources External Research Program. Robert Bodnar of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, will study how the Coles Hill uranium deposit in south central Virginia was formed. This deposit is one of the largest undeveloped uranium resources in the country. This research is expected to document the geologic characteristics of the deposit, determine the age of deposit formation, and result in a model that will help with the assessment of uranium potential in other regions of the Eastern USA with similar geologic settings. In addition, Jaroslav Dostal of St. Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, will investigate uranium and rare-earth element deposits of the Bokan Mountain granite complex on the Prince of Wales Island in southeastern Alaska. This research is expected to provide a better understanding of the geologic processes that led to deposit formation and to characterize the granite complex that contains the deposits. From this study, analogies to similar deposits around the world will be made and the potential for similar deposits in Alaska and western North American can be assessed. (TradeTech, April 10)

World : Average uranium spot prices may remain lower than the past two years until at least 2014 because of increased mine production and sufficient supplies from decommissioned weapons, Melbourne-based securities firm Goldman Sachs JBWere Pty said. Prices may average $42.85 a pound this year, 31% lower than in 2008 and less than half the 2007 average. Prices may climb 5 percent next year to $45, then to $50 in 2011. Prices have dropped from a record of $138 a pound in June 2007 as investors sell inventories and world economic growth slows, the dramatic price surge in 2006 and 2007 being seen as anomalous. Global mined uranium production may increase by 7% a year on average between 2008 and 2013 because of new projects in Kazakhstan, Canada and elsewhere, even as some investments are slowed. Cameco Corp., the world’s biggest uranium producer, Paladin Energy Ltd. and Uranium One Inc. are among companies building or expanding mines. Goldman Sachs JBWere’s price forecasts through 2010 are lower than downgraded estimates published by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a separate April 7 report : spot prices may average $47.20 a pound this year, 17% lower than earlier forecast, while 2010 prices may average $49.80, a 6% reduction. The downgrades reflect “the drop in spot activity as a result of the liquidation of spot uranium positions, primarily by financial players” late last year, JPMorgan’s analysts said : they maintained their long-term forecast for prices at $65 a pound, citing “emerging uranium supply constraints.” (Bloomberg, April 08)

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., in the throes of paying off creditors, acquired uranium cake “under a matured commodities contract” and plans to sell it when the market improves “to realize the best prices,” Chief Executive Officer said. Lehman, once the fourth-largest investment bank, has an estimated $200 billion in unsecured liabilities left to pay. The uranium, which may be as much as 500,000 pounds, might fetch $20 million at today’s prices of about $40.50 per pound, said traders who asked not to be named because of the confidential nature of the data. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said last week it doesn’t plan a fire-sale of the uranium it holds to pay off an estimated $200 billion in unsecured liabilities. A potential sale of Lehman’s holding of the radioactive metal had been an overhang in the market, according to London-based CQS UK LLP, which invests in funds that hold uranium. (Bloomberg, April 14)

[krolik]

Une brève qui donne des idées.
@+

Pauvre uranium !

La relance du nucléaire, avec une quarantaine de réacteurs en projet dans le monde et l'obligation de moins émettre de gaz à effet de serre, aurait pu faire croire que le combustible qui hérisse le poil de tous les écolos de la planète vaudrait son pesant d'or sous l'effet de cette boulimie généralisée.

Pas du tout. Certes, le prix de la livre d'uranium était bien passé de 10 dollars en 2002 à 138 dollars en 2007, sous l'effet d'une spéculation effrénée. Mais depuis ce pic, la dégringolade est constante et l'on a atteint cette semaine un médiocre 44 dollars (33,2 euros) la livre sur le marché au comptant, dit "spot".

D'un côté, les fonds spéculatifs en déroute étaient contraints de trouver des liquidités en cédant les mises qu'ils avaient imprudemment placées sur l'uranium. De l'autre, la montée en puissance de l'énergie nucléaire aurait dû, au moins partiellement, compenser ce retrait.

C'était sans compter avec le fait que le marché de l'uranium n'est pas un vrai marché. Quelque 90 % des transactions demeurent confidentielles, car elles sont conclues entre les mineurs, comme le numéro un Cameco ou son dauphin Areva, et les grands électriciens. Et conclues à très long terme puisque EDF se couvre à dix ans, par exemple.

En fait, les électriciens ont proprement étranglé la spéculation. Ils ont d'abord arrêté leurs achats au moment du pic, puis constitué des stocks. "Nous sommes en situation d'observation", reconnaît euphémiquement Daniel Leroy, directeur du combustible nucléaire à la direction production ingénierie d'EDF.

La sérénité des électriciens s'explique aussi par leurs "réserves secondaires" de carburant. Car ils peuvent recycler plutonium et uranium insuffisamment brûlés, opérations qui nécessitent évidemment pas mal d'électricité, mais qui peuvent se révéler moins onéreuses que l'achat d'un minerai manipulé par les hedge funds. "Ces ressources secondaires représentent aujourd'hui 10 % de nos besoins, déclare M. Leroy. Leur proportion passera à 20 % à partir de 2010."

Oligopole et techniques nucléaires ont rendu le prix de l'uranium complètement flasque. Ce qui plaît bien à M. Leroy. "L'uranium à 44 dollars la livre permet de rémunérer convenablement les mineurs sans étrangler les électriciens", commente-t-il. Objectif à long terme ? "Une fourchette entre 30 et 55 dollars." MM. les spéculateurs, passez au large !

Alain Faujas

Article paru dans l'édition du 03.05.09.

[Jägermeifter]

Olympic Dam expansion report - 01 May 2009

The draft environmental report on the expansion of the Olympic Dam mine has been made public. The project could boost the mine's uranium output to 19,000 tonnes per year.

Olympic Dam is primarily a copper mine that produces 200,000 tonnes of the metal annually while by-products include up to 4000 tonnes of uranium per year as well as gold and silver. The figures make Olympic Dam the third biggest producer of uranium, with about 8% of the world's supply.

Owner BHP Billiton plans to roughly triple the size of the mine in a progressive manner over 11 years from 2010 and today made public the draft of its environmental impact statement for comment.

Current excavation goes on underground, but the expansion would see a large open pit developed, taking about five years to remove surface rock to expose the first section of the ore body. Over 40 years, BHP Billiton said, the pit would grow to be 4.1 km long, 3.5 km wide and 1 km deep.


Olympic Dam orebody (BHP Billiton)
Olympic Dam plant buildings, left, are above tunnels that mine only a fraction of the Olympic Dam resource (Image: BHP Billiton)

Major considerations in the project are water supplies, which must increase from 37 megalitres to 216 megalitres per day, and power which must go from 125 MWe to 775 MWe - representing about 10% of South Australia's current baseload demand.

According to preliminary schedules, the main increase in power use would come in around 2013. Most of the power will come from the grid, using Australia's fossil-heavy generation mix, but BHP Billiton is to supplement this with a 250 MWe co-generation plant using heat from the burning of sulphur that takes place when manufacturing acid for the mine's metallurgical plant.

A seawater desalination plant will require 35 MWe and this is to be powered by renewable power purchased through the National Electricity Market. BHP Billiton said that "At present, no commercially viable solar or wind energy solution has been identified at the baseload scale required [for the main parts of the mine]. A concentrated solar thermal study for a supplemental supply of up to 150 MW is ongoing."

Subject to public comments, a revised and finalised environmental impact statement and government approval, Olympic Dam's uranium oxide production would gradually increase to 17,000 tonnes per year, with a further 2000 tonnes per year extracted from copper concentrate product by BHP Billiton's customers.

[jimfells]

C'est la seule usine qui coule des lingos de 600t, mais il y en d'autres qui en coule de 500, 400 ou 300t, correspondant à des coeurs de réacteur moins puissant.

Exactement.

C'est un effet ciseaux :
- arrêt du nucléaire pendant 20 ans, avec désindustrialisation forte, et typiquement la métallurgie spécialisée en a fait les frais.
- augmentation de la taille des cuves sur certains* nouveaux réacteur : +17% pour l'EPR (241 EC)**, APWR (de MHI) avec un gros cœur (257 EC)

OL3 étant dès le début un projet en retard, il a été décidé par Areva de sous-traiter la réalisation de la cuve à Japanese Steel Works, sans attendre que la "mise à l'échelle" du l'usine du Creusot. Par contre, le Creusot devrait produire à terme les cœurs des futurs EPR (dans la pure logique d'Areva de maîtriser l'ensemble de la filière).

* ce qui n'est pas le cas sur l'AP1000 (Westinghouse) qui conserve une cuve de même diamètre que l'AP600, seule la longueur augmentant.
** Pour info, les REP N4 ont 205 EC.

.

[Jägermeifter]

Document un peu périmé mais qui n'avait pas été cité sur ce fil : rapport annuel d'AREVA:
http://www.areva.com/ReferenceDocument2008/index.htm

Tous rapports ici :
http://www.areva.com/servlet/librarytoo ... rt-en.html

[WizardOfLinn]

Pour les bricoleurs et chimistes amateurs, voici une recette de cuisine pour fabriquer votre propre yellow cake :
http://carlwillis.wordpress.com/2008/02 ... chemistry/
(s'il n'y a pas de minerai dans votre jardin, l'auteur a quelques cailloux à vendre :
http://carlwillis.wordpress.com/2008/05 ... anium-ore/
enfin, si ça ne bipe pas au passage à la douane)

Le gars s'est aussi déjà fabriqué une source de neutrons (un fuseur)...

[krolik]

Il semble que les Kazakh soient aussi "bons" que les Russes das la façon de "privatiser"..
Il y a eu Adamov, vice-ministre du Minatome Russe qui avait été arrêté en Suisse à la suite d'un détournement de l'aide à la conversion par les Américains, il a finalement été extradé en Russie. Mais les geôles russes ne sont pas forcément plus accueillantes que les geôles américaines..

@+

Le Figaro Économie, mardi 2 juin 2009, p. 17

Une-ECO

Escroquerie sur les mines d'uranium kazakhes

de Guigné, Anne

DES DIZAINES de milliards de dollars envolés au Kazakhstan. Les services de sécurité du pays ont dévoilé hier une escroquerie massive montée par l'ex-patron de la société nucléaire publique Kazatomprom, Moukhtar Djakichev.

« Nos informations confirment le transfert illégal de plus de 60 % des mines d'uranium de l'État qui sont devenues la propriété de Djakichev et de sociétés lui appartenant », a déclaré un représentant des services de sécurité. Avec l'aide d'un ancien dirigeant de banque, Djakichev avait mis sur pied un système de sociétés offshore, qui lui a permis de passer à travers les filets des procédures de sécurité. Il est accusé d'avoir détourné environ « 200 000 tonnes de réserves » d'uranium, d'une valeur de plusieurs « dizaines de milliards de dollars ».

Plusieurs autres ex-responsables de Kazatomprom ont été arrêtés. Selon les services de sécurité, certains auraient reconnu les faits, contrairement à Djakichev. Son principal complice, l'ex-directeur de la banque BTA, Moukhtar Abliazov, a fui le Kazakhstan. Il avait été accusé en mars d'avoir fondé « un groupe criminel organisé », spécialisé notamment dans le blanchiment d'argent.

[Jägermeifter]

US and Russia agree amendment to HEU deal - 21 July 2009

An amendment to the contract under which Russia sells uranium derived from weapons-grade uranium to the USA for use as fuel in nuclear power reactors has been approved by the governments of both countries.

The amendment, which was entered into in February, implements a new pricing methodology for deliveries to USEC of the USA of low enriched uranium (LEU) from Russia's Joint Stock Company Techsnabexport (Tenex) starting in 2010 and continuing through the end of the contract in 2013.

The US government approved the contract amendment on 2 April and the government of the Russia approved it on 11 July.

In 1993, the governments of the two countries signed an agreement for the purchase over a 20-year period of 500 tonnes of Russian 'surplus' weapons-grade high-enriched uranium (HEU) from nuclear disarmament and military stockpiles to be bought by the USA for use in civil nuclear reactors. Known as the HEU Agreement, and sometimes referred to as the 'Megatons to Megawatts' program, it was implemented through a 1994 contract between the US Enrichment Corporation and Tenex acting as executive agents for the US and Russian governments. After the HEU Agreement was signed the US Enrichment Corporation was later privatized, becoming USEC Inc.

After signing the 1996 purchase agreement at fixed price purchase terms in the $90 per SWU range, the market price for enrichment dropped to the low $80 range. As a result, USEC was losing money under this agreement.

In February 2002, Usec and Tenex signed an amendment in Moscow. In June 2002, the US and Russian governments approved implementation of the contract amendment for the remaining 12 years of the program. The amendment introduced new, market-based pricing terms that went into effect in January 2003.

The latest amendment modifies these pricing terms for the years 2010 through 2013 in order "enhance the stability of future pricing for both parties through a formula that combines a different mix of price points and other pricing elements from the previous methodology."

The amendment follows the agreement of a new pricing structure for the remainder of a commercial deal under which Cameco purchases uranium from dismantled Russian nuclear weapons.

Canadian uranium company Cameco announced in June 2008 that, along with partners Areva and Nukem, it had reached an agreement on pricing with Tenex, from which it currently purchases about 7 million pounds (3175 tonnes) of uranium per year under a commercial agreement dating from 1999 and due to expire in 2013. The uranium purchased by Cameco from Tenex is sold on for use as fuel in nuclear power plants. Although that agreement was updated in 2001 and 2004, the purchase price paid for the uranium by Cameco was fixed in 2001 when the price of uranium was much lower than it is today.

According to USEC, as of 30 June, some 367 tonnes of bomb-grade HEU have been recycled into 10,621 tonnes of LEU, equivalent to the elimination of 14,686 nuclear warheads.

12t de HEU américain convertit : http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/ENF-C ... 06094.html