Uranium: a source of energy | The Production Process
For more than two decades Rössing has been producing uranium oxide for consumption by the energy markets of the world. Following further enrichment processes overseas the energy of uranium is used as fuel for nuclear reactors in many countries to produce electricity.
Nuclear energy offers the world a clean, stable source of energy for heat, light and power. It is an acceptable and environmentally friendly form of energy, which does not generate emissions of carbon dioxide. Nuclear generated electricity results in a substantial reduction of greenhouse gas emissions each year, helping nations to meet their commitments on emission levels.
The environmental benefits of nuclear energy are therefore gaining increasing recognition by policy makers, particularly given its large-scale energy potential - one drum of uranium oxide (U3O8) produced at Rössing for example, contains the equivalent in energy of 25 000 barrels of crude oil.
Uranium is one of the most powerful natural energy sources known to humankind. It is a naturally occurring metallic element with an unstable atomic nucleus which, in becoming stable, gives off energy in the form of radiation. This in turn can be harnessed to produce other forms of energy such as heat. In a nuclear power station this heat is used to produce steam which drives conventional turbine generators to generate electricity.
Discovery of the Rössing orebody
The Rössing uranium deposit is situated some 65 kilometres east of the coastal town of Swakopmund. Captain Peter Louw, a mineral prospector working in the Namib Desert, discovered it in the late 1920s. It is a region of vast gravel plains and rocky outcrops.
Although various attempts were made by Captain Louw and his partners to interest mining companies in the deposit, it was only in the mid 1960s that a subsidiary of the RTZ Corporation (now Rio Tinto plc) took an option on the prospect and began a long programme of geophysical and geological surveys, drilling and evaluation.
The ore body was found to be an enormous low-grade deposit of uranium embedded in tough, abrasive granite known as Alaskite. In 1973 it was decided to go ahead with the mining of the ore body. The plant and mine were designed to produce 4 500 tonnes of uranium oxide per year and began operating in March 1976, reaching full scale production in 1979.
Today the Rössing mine is the fifth largest producer of uranium in the world and accounts for 8% of total world production. Rio Tinto currently holds 68.4% of Rössing's equity.
The Orebody
Rössing is the largest known uranium ore deposit of its kind and has a geological history dating back 700 million years to when the Namib Desert formed part of the sea.
Rössing is the largest known uranium ore deposit of its kind and has a geological history dating back 700 million years to when the Namib Desert formed part of the sea. Very slowly, a thick succession of sediments accumulated on the floor of this ancient ocean. With time, geological processes led to the burial and hardening of these sediments deep within the earth's crust. At these depths extremely high pressures and temperatures caused complex folding of the sedimentary rocks. Underlying molten granite was forced upwards and became embedded in the sedimentary rocks. This intrusive granite, known locally as Alaskite, contains uranium minerals that are either microscopically small crystals of uraninite or easily seen yellow crystals of beta-uranophane. Subsequent erosion removed much of the covering rock and exposed the Rössing deposit.
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