Australian Uranium Blog

Kalahari Minerals (LON:KAH) chairman Mark Hohnen believes that the joint venture agreed between North River Resources (LON:NRRP) and Extract Resources (ASX:EXT, TSX:EXT, NSX: EXT) can deliver a ‘considerable value uplift’ for both associates. Kalahari owns more than 40% of both companies.

North River and Extract will work together to develop three uranium exploration licences in Namibia, near Extract’s world-class mine development project – the Rössing South deposit on the Husab Uranium Project. Read article

I wonder if the writer of the commentary below knows about Australia’s ASX listed companies with Namibian projects? (EXT, BMN, PDN etc)

These are are world class projects and far outweigh what Australia is likely to produce given the current internal Australian uranium political dissonance.

“AUSTRALIA can play a key role in meeting the global shortfall in uranium supplies, but only if existing mines are expanded and new ones brought on board quickly, Adelaide-based uranium explorer Toro Energy says.

With uranium emerging as a worldwide energy solution, Australia will play its part through expanding existing mines and discovering and developing new deposits, Toro Energy says.

Managing director Greg Hall told the World Nuclear Association in London that while $US3 billion ($A3.2 billion) and been spent globally on uranium exploration since 2003, new discoveries had been limited.

“There have been some new, globally significant discoveries and there will be a few more, somewhere we believe in the order of five new globally significant uranium discoveries are likely between 2003 and 2020, Mr Hall said.

“However, it will be on average between eight to 15 years before any of these opportunities move from discovery to stable production.’‘

Note that EXT will be in production in 2012 with one of the world’s largest mines

While that presented opportunities for Australia, Mr Hall said local producers could miss out on global opportunities unless new projects were brought on through the approval and feasibility process amid the right pricing environment.

With high prices Australia could be producing 7000 tonnes of additional uranium oxide by 2015, rising to an additional 14,000 tonnes by 2022, Mr Hall said.

Toro has just completed the trial mining test pit at its Wiluna project in Western Australia with production expected from 2013.” http://wotnews.com.au/view/5583999/

Interesting to see that EXT popped 12% on the TSX overnight but the movement here in Australia is just under .5%. Makes EXT 10c less than Canadian price.

Makes me wonder if people here in Australia are just avoiding uranium in view of the new anti-uranium sentiment. (Perhaps they do not know that EXT is in Namibia?)

Drilling has now shown that the geological structure hosting the uranium mineralisation at Rössing South is consistently mineralised over a strike length of nine kilometres. Zones 1 and 2 at Rössing South, which are the subject of the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) which is currently in progress, together make up the northern 5.5 kilometres of the total identified mineralised strike length. Approximately six kilometres of the highly prospective Rössing South Anticline remain to be drill tested.

CHEMICAL ASSAYS CONFIRM THE EMERGENCE OF ZONE 5 AT
HUSAB’S RÖSSING SOUTH
Highlights:
Emerging Zone 5 at Husab’s Rössing South:

o Chemical assay results including 29 metres assaying 1653 ppm U3O8 in RSRC002a

o Continuous mineralisation at Zone 5 has now been identified over a strike length of 1.7 kilometres and remains open along strike and down dip.
• Granite hosted uranium mineralisation now confirmed over nine kilometres of strike of   the Rössing South Anticline with another six kilometres to be explored.
• Definitive Feasibility Study targeted for completion in Q4 of calendar 2010. Early stage planning for Mining Licence application has commenced.
• Comminution test work commenced on a bulk sample of mineralised alaskite material from Rössing South.
• Continued drilling focussed on upgrading early mined material to a “Measured” Resource classification.
• Further exploration potential within Husab Uranium Project still to be tested with an exploration drilling program continuing with a number of new targets planned for testing
in 2H, 2010.
• 17 drill rigs currently in operation.

September 9, 2010: Following the resource update announced on 10 August, 2010, which confirmed Rössing South as one of the world’s largest uranium deposits, Extract Resources Limited (ASX/TSX/NSX:EXT) (“Extract” or “the Company”) is pleased to provide an update on progress at the Husab Uranium Project in Namibia.

Summary of Extract Resources by www.australian-shares.com

Libs deadlocked on Arkaroola
HENDRIK GOUT
04 Sep, 2010 04:00 AM
The Liberal Party is has been unable to decide whether to support mining in the Arkaroola Wilderness.

Arkaroola, eight hours drive north of Adelaide in the Gammon Ranges, is one of Australia’s most spectacular landscapes.

Marathon Resources wants the Gammons not for their scenery, but for what lies beneath. Uranium has already been discovered, and there are signs of gold. Previous prospecting activities saw the company illegally dump its waste, but it wants to do further exploration and then uranium mining.

A Bill to stop all mining in the wilderness is now before Parliament, and the Liberals will have to vote on the legislation within a fortnight.

The MPs were expected to make a decision at a Port Lincoln meeting this week, but were unable to reach consensus.

“It was a very amicable, calm discussion. It wasn’t sort of some great tension within the party room or anything like that,” said Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond.

“But in the course of the discussion it became also apparent that there were a number of questions that we still wanted to clarify before coming to a landing on the Arkaroola question.”

Several prominent Liberals strongly oppose mining in the Arkaroola area, including Senator Nick Minchin, former environment spokesperson Michelle Lensink and shadow treasurer Ian Evans. In the late ’90s, Evans, as Liberal environment minister, stopped a proposed magnetite mine in one of the Gammon gorges.

The Greens, who naturally oppose the mining, find themselves in agreement with at least some SA Liberals, rather than Labor. This is in contrast to relations between Greens and Labor at a federal level, where Greens have moved into a coalition with the ALP.

One of the Premier’s media secretaries, Lachlan Parker, sent abusive emails in response to a news story which said Premier Mike Rann supported prospecting and mining the Gammons. Mr Parker said that the Government was now “still considering its response to the hundreds of submissions received” about its discussion paper which looks at conservation and resources use in the Northern Flinders Ranges.

“Substantial exploration on Marathon Resources lease, which covers Mount Gee, remains suspended until the Mining Amendment Bill now before the Legislative Council passes State Parliament and until the Government finalises its response to the ‘Seeking a Balance’ document,” Mr Parker said.

http://www.independentweekly.com.au/news/local/news/general/libs-deadlocked-on-arkaroola/1931766.aspx

The story above is of great interest as South Australia is seen as a mining friendly state and has actively pushed for a new and bigger mining industry. The state has several ranium projects. The state also has good green credentials and is leading the push for Hot Rock Energy with several companies on the edge of commercial exploitation of its world’s best hot shallow dry rocks that seem ideal for Geothermal energy production.

To have the Liberals in combination with the Greens pushing back the exploitation of the Arkaroola Wilderness on the surface seems bizarre but they may have a point.

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed uranium developer Extract Resources is aiming to start production at Rössing South, which would be the world’s second-largest uranium mine, in 2014, CEO Jonathan Leslie reported on Thursday.

The definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Namibian project was likely to be delivered before the end of this year, with construction at the Rössing South project starting on the back end of 2013.

The mine had the potential to deliver up to 15-million pounds of uranium a year, Leslie told delegates at the African Downunder conference in Perth.

The project currently had an estimated indicated resource of 122,2-million tons at the zone-one deposit, with a further 118,8-million tons at the zone-two deposit.

read full article

RESOURCE UPGRADE ESTABLISHES RÖSSING SOUTH AS THE 6TH LARGEST GLOBAL URANIUM DEPOSIT
Highlights:

•Resource upgrade moves Rössing South into the top 6 global uranium deposits by contained metal.
•Zones 1 and 2 Indicated Resource increased to more than a quarter of a billion pounds (257M.lbs) U3O8: a ten-fold increase in Indicated Resource from the previous resource statement (ASX release 22nd July 2009).
•Inferred Resource of 110M.lbs U3O8, including Maiden Inferred Resource from Zones 3 and 4.
•37% increase in Total Resource size from previous resource statement (ASX release 22nd July 2009).
•Confirmed as the largest in-situ and highest grade granite-hosted uranium deposit in Namibia.
•Extensive exploration potential within Husab Uranium Project still to be tested with an extensive drilling program continuing.
•Resource now defined to support completion of Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS).

The size and grade of the new resource confirms Rössing South as one of the most significant uranium discoveries made in the last decade, and establishes it as the largest in-situ and highest grade, granite-hosted uranium deposit in Namibia. The increased resource underpins the Company’s next milestone, which is the completion of the Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”), and takes Extract another step forward from a successful explorer to becoming a major uranium producer.

Mineralisation is still open in zones 1 and 2 and there are still areas yet to be tested, with the company only having explored 8km of a 15km target zone.

I’ve delayed adding this image to the blog until I thought that the trend was becoming steadier….

Interestingly the Global Uranium Fund (GURAF) isn’t looking very strong.

I wonder if the shift in the image is more due to the USD outlook?

PALADIN Energy has signed an agreement with China Guangdong Nuclear Power to explore uranium sales deals.

The uranium miner said the memorandum of understanding will also include a possible expansion of joint venture relationships between Paladin and Energy Metals, of which CGNPC holds a 69 per cent stake, without providing more details.

Energy Metals has a 54 per cent stake in the Bigrlyi uranium prospect in Australia’s Northern Territory. Paladin owns 41 per cent of the prospect.

The statement also said the Chinese group could participate in Paladin’s growth strategies.