BTW as opposed to CAS / Espinharas, Galvarni did not previously own the tenement in the article prior to the tender......
GREAT READ for all CAS fans; (CAS own Espinharas...google it!)
Brazilian uranium resources becoming available to private-sector miners Text Size
By: Keith Campbell
Published on 4th July 2008
For the first time, a private-sector company has won the right to mine uranium in Brazil. And the Brazilian government has indicated that this is likely to be only the first step in opening up the country’s uranium resources to the private sector.
Brazil currently ranks sixth in the world in terms of uranium reserves, but hitherto the exploration for, and mining of, the energy metal have been the exclusive right of the State-owned Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil (INB – Brazilian Nuclear Indus-tries). But now, with INB seeking – and needing – to increase the country’s uranium production, and lacking the resources to finance all the necessary operations itself, the State-owned company has, with government approval, adopted the policy of seeking joint ventures (JVs) with the private sector.
This first step involves the mining of the phosphate and uranium deposit at Santa Quitéria, in Ceará state, in north-east Brazil. According to INB, Santa Quitéria has reserves of nine-million tons of phosphate and 80 000 t of uranium. INB invited companies to tender for the JV project and the winner, announced last month, was Galvani Mineração, part of a Brazilian family-owned fertiliser group which is the country’s only integrated producer of phosphate fertilisers. This company’s bid beat those of global agribusiness giant Bunge and diversified mining major Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (Vale), which is now the world’s third-largest miner in terms of market capitalisation, after BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.
Reportedly, Vale is interested in moving into uranium and hoped that Santa Quitéria would provide it with valuable experience in the sector. In contrast, Galvani (and Bunge) wanted the phosphate (the Brazilian agricultural sector is booming), and this fact is reflected in the company’s winning bid. Galvani will provide 100% of the investment needed to develop the mine, which will amount to $377-million, with production expected to start at the end of 2014. All the phosphate produced will go to Galvani, and all the uranium to INB. The mine is expected to have an annual production capacity of 240 000 t of phosphate and 1 600 t of uranium. Santa Quitéria will provide 7% of Brazil’s annual phosphate requirements. Of the total investment, $342-million will be applied to the production of phosphate, and $35-million to the production of uranium.
Next on INB’s list for a JV partnership is the Rio Cristalino uranium project, in Pará state, also in north-east Brazil. This has estimated reserves of 150 000 t of uranium, and a private-sector partner could have up to a 49% share. (On its own, INB is currently expanding its Caetité uranium operation, in Bahia state, also in north-east Brazil; this currently produces 400 t/y of uranium and expansion will increase this to 800 t/y by 2012.)
The Brazilian federal government last month reiterated that it was intending to amend the country’s Constitution and allow private-sector companies to explore, produce and export uranium, under government oversight – this proposal was first floated late last year (see Mining Weekly October 12, 2007). Brazil is seeking to expand its uranium production to supply both its own expanding nuclear energy sector and the growing world market.
The country currently has two nuclear power plants, Angra 1 and Angra 2, with the third, Angra 3, due to come into operation around 2014. (Angra 1 and 2 are, and Angra 3 will be, located side by side at Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro state.) An additional four to eight nuclear power plants are planned between now and 2030. Currently, Angra 1 consumes 170 t of uranium every 14 months, while Angra 2 takes 270 t every 14 months; Angra 3’s consumption will be similar to that of Angra 2.
At the moment, Brazilian uranium is sent to Canada for enrichment and then to Europe for conversion into fuel before returning to the country and being fed into the Angra reactors. Brazil plans to invest $700-million to $800-million to establish domestic enrichment and fuel production plants by 2015. (Brazil does have domestic enrichment capa- bility, but not yet on an industrial scale.)
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