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April 2015
MODERN MINING
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MINING News
Bannerman Resources has announced the
successful completion of construction and
the official opening on 24 March 2015 of
the Etango heap leach demonstration
plant by Patrick Elungu, Chief Inspector –
Regional Services, Ministry of Mines and
Energy, Namibia, and Dr Wotan Swiegers,
Director of the Namibian Uranium Institute.
Bannerman says the commissioning
of the plant is a significant milestone as
it continues to progress the development
of the Etango uranium project. The new
facility, an integral step of the detailed
engineering and financing phases, specifi-
cally enables: demonstrating the design
and projected performance reflected
in the DFS; maintaining and building
project knowledge; and pursuing value
engineering.
Bannerman’s Chief Executive Office, Len
Jubber, said: “The commissioning of the
demonstration plant coincides with the
Chinese government approving construc-
tion of two more units at the Hongyanhe
nuclear power plant in Liaoning province,
marking the first approval for new reactors
in four years.
“China, currently the largest constructor
of new reactors, clearly continues to ramp
up its nuclear energy programme in line
with its stated goal of increasing electricity
generated from nuclear plants from 21 GW
currently to 58 GW by 2020 and 150 GW by
2030. In terms of reactors, China now has
24 reactors in operation, 25 under con-
struction and 189 on order, planned or
proposed.
“In the face of this growing demand,
Bannerman’s advancing Etango project
remains one of the very few globally signif-
icant uranium projects that can realistically
be brought into production in the medium
term.”
Owned 80 % by Bannerman, the Etango
project is located on the Namib Desert
sands approximately 38 km (by road)
east of Swakopmund and has proved and
probable reserves totalling 279,6 Mt at an
average grade of 194 ppm for 119,3 Mlb of
contained U
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Feasibility on Namibian
uranium project completed
Forsys Metals Corp has announced the
results of a Feasibility Study (FS) for its
wholly-owned Norasa uranium project
located in the Erongo region of Namibia.
The FS, completed by engineering consul-
tants, Amec Foster Wheeler, together with
reliance on other experts in the fields of min-
ing and environment and company qualified
persons, has confirmed the robustness and
economics of Norasa.
Highlights of the FS include a material
increase in mineral reserve estimates to 90,7
million lb of U
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, up 14,8 % from 79,0 mil-
lion lb as of October 2013. The changes to
the mineral reserve estimates are primar-
ily as a result of the addition of 10,7 million
lb of U
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of reserves from the Namibplaas
deposit, using a 140 ppm cut-off grade.
The operating costs per pound are
estimated to average US$32,96/lb U
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over the first five years of production and
US$34,72/lb over the life of the mine. The
updated cost estimates represent a signifi-
cant reduction from the 2013 Engineering
Cost Study (ECS) estimates of US$34,76 and
US$38,20/lb U
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,respectively.
The economic analysis results in an esti-
mated pre-tax net present value (NPV) at
a discount rate of 8 % of US$622,6 million
(post-tax NPV US$383,4 million). Using the
initial investment and operating cash flows
from inception, the pre-tax internal rate of
return is estimated to be 32 %.
The Norasa production schedule has
been modified to incorporate the updated
mineral reserves and to include a processing
rate increase to 11,2 Mt/a, up from 8,2 Mt/a
in 2010. Estimated annual production over
the 15-year life of mine (LoM) is approxi-
mately 5,2 million lb of U
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Bannerman’s Etango heap leach
demonstration plant opened
The opening of the Etango heap leach demonstration plant (photo: Bannerman).