Australian emerging uranium develop- ment company Bannerman Resources has announced its plans to advance the feasibility study on its Etango uranium project, in Namibia.
The company reports that, based on the results of the feasibility study update, life-of-mine production from the measured and indicated resources of the primary Etango deposit is estimated at 106-million pounds of uranium oxide (U3O8) using heap leach processing.
The mining schedule in the study update provides for about 20 years of production at an average production rate of between five-million and seven-million pounds U3O8 a year. Bannerman expects substantial additional material to be included in the ultimate openpit mine design based on the recent addition of inferred resources at the Ondjamba and Hyena satellite deposits.
Bannerman previously stated that the Etango project mineral resource estimate comprised total measured and indicated resources of 149-million pounds U3O8, plus additional inferred resources of 64-million pounds U3O8.
Drilling, during 2010, has delineated two new satellite deposits within 1 km of the primary Etango deposit, with an estimated combined inferred resource of 44-million pounds U3O8 that is included in the projects recent resource update. Bannerman considers that there is good potential to identify other satellite deposits that could further add value to the project.
Owner mining has been assumed for mine planning and costing purposes. The proposed mining method is a conventional hard rock openpit operation, with drilling, blasting, loading and truck hauling. The ultimate pit dimensions for the Etango deposit pit are 6-km 1-km, with a maximum depth of 400 m below surface. However, almost 70% of the Etango resource lies within 200 m of surface.
The estimated processed tonnage, drawn only from measured and indicated resources, totals 292-million tons at an average grade of 195 ppm U3O8. This represents about 87% of the current total measured and indicated resource of the Etango deposit.
As previously noted, the recently identified satellite deposits, Ondjamba and Hyena, offer the potential for mining flexibility and mine life extensions.
The average life-of-mine strip ratio for the operation is relatively low at 3,7 t of waste for each ton of ore. In addition to the measured and indicated material, there is also a small amount of inferred resource material within the pit design that would ultimately be expected to come into the mine plan.
The inclusion of this material reduces the average life-of-mine strip ratio to 3,5 t of waste for each ton of ore. As the Etango deposit is close to the surface, mining of mineralised material in the initial pit areas can start almost immediately and the capital cost estimates incorporate only a six-month period of stockpile building prior to plant commissioning.
The Etango project is located about 40 km by road from the town of Swakopmund. Power and water may be supplied from the well- established national infrastructure. The feasibility study estimates incorporate provision of high-voltage power lines and reticulation systems, desalinated water supply with pumping and storage facilities, and access roads.
The Namibian State-owned power utility has confirmed its ability to provide power to the Etango site. Power requirements for the total mining and heap leach operation are estimated at about 31 MW.
The company reports that the State-owned water utility is expanding capacity in the Erongo region to meet increasing demand from mining and other industries. Edited by: Martin Zhuwakinyu
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