economist article on pdn in namibia
Hope no-one minds but I've posted a copy here in case the link changes....
Aussies eye Namib Uranium deposit
Paladin Resources plan N$350 million mine in Namib Naukluft Park
By Chamwe Kaira
Paladin Resources Ltd, a listed Australian mining group, is planning to open a uranium mine in the Namib Naukluft Park. The mine will be the second uranium mine in the country after Rio Tinto's Rössing Uranium, which is one of the largest uranium mines in the world. The Paladin mine will require a total investment of N$350 million. The Paladin group has a market capitalisation of over N$1 billion.
The ambitious plans by Paladin were unveiled this week during a public meeting in Windhoek. A second meeting took place in Swakopmund on Thursday evening with another scheduled for Walvis Bay on Friday. Paladin, through its local subsidiary Langer Heinrich Uranium (Pty) Ltd, bought the deposit from a company known as Acclaim in August 2002. The EPL on the Langer Heinrich deposit belonged to South African mining group Gencor up to 1997. Gencor erected a pilot plant at the site but this has in the meantime been dismantled. Paladin is currently also working on developing a uranium mine in Malawi. This project runs about 8 months behind the Namibian project. Paladin mines three uranium deposits in Australia.
Paladin managing director John Borshoff said the piece of land on which the mine is situated has been excised from the rest of the park. However, the Desert Research Foundation, whose well-known executive director Dr Mary Seely attended the Windhoek meeting, disputed that the land holding the uranium deposit had been cut off from the rest of the park or that it had been deproclaimed. Paladin is hoping to start mining the deposit before its current exploration licence expires next year.
The ore body is located in a gully in the vicinity of Bloedkoppie, a granite outcrop about 50 km from Walvis Bay. Although fragments have been exposed through erosion at the surface, the main ore body is some 8 to 9 meters below the surface. Paladin appears to have been drawn to mine the deposit following a rise in the price of uranium two years ago. The price of uranium had been flat for nearly 20 years. However, an increase in demand has lead to a shortfall of 160 000 pounds per annum on the world market. The price of uranium has increased from around US$8 per pound two years ago to the current spot price of around US$23 pound per pound.
Paladin expects to mine 2.2 million pounds of uranium over the next 15 years. Based on an estimated price of US$20 per pound, the company expects its revenue from the mine to be around US$44 million. Company officials said they expected to conclude several long-term supply contracts for the intended lifespan of the mine. During the construction phase of the project, 350 people will be employed on the project. Once the mine is running, 100 people will be employed directly. Officials said they hope to find mine staff both skilled and unskilled locally saying there is a large pool of workers from the existing mining companies. Paladin officials said the workers will be housed in Walvis Bay and transported to the mine by bus.
During the Windhoek meeting, the issue of water supply to the mine was raised with several people saying the current annual supply of 7 million cubic meters to the coastal areas was already facing a severe strain. The mine will require around 1 million cubic meters of water per annum, an increase of 15% on the current supply capacity. Chief project engineer Darryl Butcher explained the technicalities of the proposed extraction plant saying that issues such as leeching from the tailings dams and dust pollution are addressed in detail in the Environmental Assessment study. Paladin hopes to conclude its Environmental Assessment study by December this year so that a bankable feasibility study can be finalised early next year.
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