COMMODITIES
COMMODITIES
arid, water scarce country and the prolonged drought
in the region adds to the woes of not only operating
mines, but also mothballed operations thinking
about starting up their processing plants again. At the
moment there are still strict restrictions on the use of
surface water in Namibia.
A uranium giant
Despite the challenges, Namibia has some of the largest
and most prolific uranium mines in the world. According
to the World Nuclear Association, Swakop Uranium’s
Husab mine produced the third most uranium in the world
in 2018 (3028t). That is 926t more than Rössing uranium
mine, that produced 2102t in 2018. Rössing was the fifth
largest producer of uranium in 2018. The largest producer
of uranium in the world is Cigar Lake in Canada, which
produced 6924t in 2018. Cigar Lake is owned Cameco/
Orano. The second largest producer was BHP Biliton’s
Olympic Dam. Olympic Dam pushed 3159t through its
processing plant in the same year.
Rössing was owned by multinational giant Rio Tinto, but
the company announced last year that it had completed
the sale of its interest in the Rössing to China National
Uranium Corporation (CNUC). The sale was approved by
Namibia's Mines and Energy Minister, on the provision
that China respects the African nation's law. The Rössing
open pit mine has been operational since 1976 and in
2017, before operations were discontinued, it supplied
enriched yellowcake uranium to power stations in France,
UK, USA and Japan.
After having been placed on care-and-maintenance, the
Langer Heinrich uranium project is now the subject of
a prefeasibility study into its restart potential. Paladin
Energy indicated that there was an opportunity to
increase production to 6.5-million pounds a year
through an additional high-return, discretionary capital
spent of USD30-million, further enhancing access to
offtake and financing.
Uranium geology of Namibia
Tertiary and sedimentary deposits in sandstone of the
Karoo Supergroup host the three major types of uranium-
bearing lithologies in Namibia. Rössing and Valencia
are of granitic origin. The other main deposit type is
paleaochannel calcrete deposits, such as Langer Heinrich
and Tumas. Uranium mineralisation was first discovered in
Namibia's Rössing Mountains, Namib Desert in 1928, by
Capt. G. Peter Louw.
One of the big concerns for mining projects in Namibia is the lack of
surface water. In picture is the water pipe from Orano’s desalination
plant to uranium mines inland.
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African Mining March 2020
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African Mining March 2020 www. africanmining.co.za