Honeymoon uranium mine

Honeymoon uranium mine
	General information about the mine
	Trial field for in-situ solution mining at the honeymoon uranium mine
Mining technology	In situ method
	Information about the mining company
Operating company	Uranium One Australia Pty Ltd (51%) ; Mitsui & Co (49%)
	Funded raw materials
Degradation of	Uranium ore
	Geographical location
Coordinates	31 ° 44 '27.4 " S , 140 ° 39' 44.5" O Coordinates: 31 ° 44 '27.4 " S , 140 ° 39' 44.5" O
	Location honeymoon uranium mine
Location	Lake Frome
State	South Australia
Country	Australia

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The Honeymoon Uranium Mine is a mine for the extraction of uranium ore in eastern South Australia , located between Broken Hill and southern Lake Frome about 600 km northeast of Adelaide and 300 km east of Port Augusta . Uranium mining at the Honeymoon Uranium Mine began in 2011. By 2013, it was the fourth active uranium mine in Australia. It was closed because of falling raw material prices.

history

The uranium deposits of East Kalkaroo (910 t uranium oxide) and Yarramba (300 t) were discovered by the Sedimentary Uranium company , which, however, were not large enough for an economic exploitation. In November 1972 the uranium deposits were discovered in the Honeymoon area (3,300 t), 75 km northwest of Broken Hill, and in 1973 the largest uranium deposits were discovered in the Gould Dam area (17,640 t). Between 1973 and 1979, 250 exploratory wells were drilled.

Occurrence

There are several sandstone uranium deposits of various sizes in the area: Honeymoon , East Kalkaroo , Yarramba and Gould's Dam . Initially it was only about the Honeymoon deposit, but the Canadian company Southern Cross Resources merged the deposits, which are estimated at around 22,000 tons, into one project.

Mining method

Smaller uranium deposits in sandstone can be developed economically by means of solution ( in-situ leaching ) and this process is to be used in these partially isolated deposits. After drilling into the ore body , oxidizing fluid is introduced, which mobilizes the uranium. The solution is introduced into the outer area of the ore body via injection bores which are located in the outer area of the ore body. In the center of the ore body, the boreholes are drilled to produce the uranium-containing solution. This is to ensure a flow of the fluid to the center of the deposit and prevent uncontrolled spreading in the rock. Further boreholes will be drilled in the vicinity of the deposit, which will be used to monitor in order to prevent contamination in the vicinity of the deposit. In order to use the method, the ore body must be closed at the top and bottom by impermeable rock, and the ore body should be bounded above and below by impermeable (clayey) rocks. If this is the case, there is no overburden when using this procedure.

politics

Since the uranium mining is controversial in the anti-nuclear power movement in Australia and the population, a blockade of the mining area took place from 14th to 16th May 1982. In March 1983, John Bannon of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) came to power in South Australia and the mining was not approved due to the so-called three-mine policy of the ALP. On March 17, 1998, the government of South Australia approved uranium mining as a pilot project of 115 tons per year. The smallest volume honeymoon mine has the capacity of 400 tons of uranium oxides annually for the next 5 to 7 years.

In April 2009, South Australia's Prime Minister Mike Rann approved uranium mining after the ALP had abandoned the three-mine policy two years earlier . The mining of the uranium was carried out by Southern Cross Resources Inc. , which merged in December 2005 with Aflease Gold and Uranium Resources of South Africa to form the international company SXR Uranium One , based in Canada . The AUD $ 138 million honeymoon project is operated by Uranium One with a 51% stake and the Japanese Mitsui & Co with 49%.