Massive deposit to rival Roxby DownsNICK HENDERSON, ANTO...

Massive deposit to rival Roxby DownsNICK HENDERSON, ANTO FAGASTA, CHILE, MICHAEL OWEN
April 02, 2007 02:15am
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THE discovery of a "massive" new South Australian uranium deposit could be the country's biggest such find in a quarter of a century.

Prospectors hoping to mine the site, near the existing Beverley mine in the state's Far North, today will detail the discovery and inform the Stock Exchange.
Premier Mike Rann yesterday revealed the news during a tour of a BHP Billiton mine in Chile. He also vowed to campaign hard for relaxation of national Labor's no-new-mines policy, as Prime Minister John Howard described SA's uranium reserves as one of the nation's greatest strategic and economic assets.

Mr Howard will visit BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam mine today and has backed the planned expansion of the site, which holds a third of all the world's known uranium.

There is speculation the Beverley find could rival deposits at Olympic Dam and Mr Rann said it would create many jobs and millions of dollars for the state. "We are talking about a massive new find in South Australia," he said from Chile.

Mr Rann said he had been informed of the discovery by Heathgate Resources' affiliate Quasar Resources and joint venture partner Alliance Resources.

He vowed to personally contact every ALP delegate who will vote on whether to change the party's no new uranium mines policy at the party's national conference this month to ensure the project does not stall.

"When I return to Australia I will be starting shuttle diplomacy around the country, meeting with all of the other premiers and territory leaders, meeting with the federal Labor leaders, meeting with the unions to change federal Labor's uranium policy which says no new mines," he said.

"It is an incredibly exciting discovery. I am told it is uranium of the highest grade and has the potential to be a significant major mine.

"Subject to respective board approvals, the joint venture is planning to submit a mining lease application for development of a major mine by the end of this year.

"There is absolutely no doubt that South Australia is in the box seat to be the dominant player in world uranium."

Keith Yates, the chief executive of Adelaide Resources, which in November announced a four-year plan to join forces with Quasar Resources to search for potential uranium deposits, yesterday said the Beverley find was significant.

"It is widely believed in the industry that it is the best uranium discovery in Australia in 25 years," he said. "But as to how it might rival Olympic Dam, well that's just straight speculation."

Quasar Resources managing director Geoff McConachy said last night that a formal announcement would be made today by the company's joint venture partner, Alliance Resources. A private SA company, Quasar conducted an extensive drilling campaign last year and worked on better defining the mineralogy and metallurgical characteristics of the find.

An exploration arm of Heathgate, which owns and operates the Beverley Uranium Mine, Quasar has during the past two years continued to have "highly encouraging results" from its drilling exploration work east of the Northern Flinders Ranges in an area five to 10km west of the Beverley Uranium Mine. Mr McConachy said an initial discovery was made in March, 2005, and the results of ongoing work had been encouraging.

"It has the potential to be the best discovery of uranium in 25 years, but we'll wait and see," Mr McConachy said.

"The significance of the find has been gradually evolving. We're still working there."

Alliance is confident, with a belief the deposit could rival known uranium deposits such as Honeymoon and Gould's Dam.

Mr Rann said he was confident the present uranium policy would be overturned, creating billions of dollars in mining revenue and tens of thousands of jobs in SA over the next few decades.

"There's absolutely no doubt that there is going to be a fight on and I am confident we will win that fight and get a policy that is logical," he said.

Mr Rann toured the Spence mine - 250km north of Chile's fourth largest city Antofagasta - as part of a week-long visit to the country ahead of BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam expansion near Roxby Downs.

The copper mine has only recently been officially opened and Mr Rann examined similar processes to those that will be used as part of Olympic Dam's early expansion.