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Equinox considers building uranium processing plant

Equinox considers building uranium processing plant
By Kabanda Chulu
Thursday September 13, 2007 [04:00]

EQUINOX Minerals is considering setting up a uranium processing plant to maximise the by-product of its US$760 million Lumwana Copper project in north western Zambia. And Equinox Minerals has completed the Lumwana Copper Hedging Programme as required under its Debt Finance Facilities. Under these facility documents, Equinox has hedged 30 per cent of the initial three years of expected Lumwana copper production.

The completion of the hedging requirements has underpinned the first three years of Lumwana production with only 15 per cent of planned production committed by forwards. The programme leaves the balance, 85 per cent, exposed to the upside of a rising copper price.

Commenting on the prospects of uranium mining in Zambia, Equinox chief executive officer Craig Williams stated that current market conditions for the commodity warranted the company's re-evaluation of Lumwana's uranium potential.

"An updated full bankable feasibility study (BFS) on Lumwana's uranium prospects is due for completion by first quarter of 2008, the outcome of the BFS will decide the way we take forward the uranium aspect of this project, but the likelihood is, that we will build a uranium processing plant as a separate module to the copper plant, that will probably be commissioned a year and a half after the copper plant comes on stream in mid-2008, and could potentially produce 750,000 tonnes a year of uranium oxide," Williams stated.

" And this uranium mineralisation occurs as two high-grade uranium zones within the copper mine's open pit so our current attitude is to selectively mine and stockpile these discrete ore bodies and we will continue to infill drill the zones to better define them and we know from pilot plant trials we can produce yellow cake from Lumwana's uranium."
However, Williams emphasised that while uranium looked exciting, copper still represented the core of the project.

"When Lumwana's maiden copper output comes on stream next year, the mine will produce 170,000 tonnes annually of the metal, making it Africa's largest copper mine at that time and its projected mine life is 37 years," stated Williams.

Lumwana's uranium resources are estimated at 11.4 million tonnes of uranium oxide with metallurgical tests suggesting a 97 per cent recovery rate.

Labels: EQUINOX

posted by MrK @ 5:47 AM