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Dr Andrea Marsland-Smith, Geology Manager, Heathgate Resources delivered this presentation at the 2013 Mining South Australia conference. The conference has been produced specifically for the South Australian mining and regional development community and represents a unique opportunity to hear the latest developments from the major projects, mines and explorers in South Australia. For more information on the annual event, please visit the conference website: http://www.informa.com.au/miningsa2013
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2013 Mining South Australia
Whyalla, November 26-27, 2013
Operational Update – Frome Basin
Uranium Production
Dr Andrea Marsland-Smith Geology Manager
Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd, Adelaide, Australia
General Atomics
General Atomics Torrey Pines, CA
• Headquartered in San Diego, California, ~ 5000+ employees
• Founded 1955 (privately held corporation) • Is one of the world's leading institutions for:
high-technology systems ranging from the nuclear fuel cycle to electromagnetic systems,
remotely operated surveillance aircraft,
airborne sensors, and advanced electronic,
wireless and laser technologies.
3
WORLD-WIDE LOCATIONS
M-411(4) 10-2008
INTERNATIONAL
• Dresden
• Mittenwalde
• Lauchhammer
• Lübben
• Tokyo
• Adelaide
• Bangkok
• Rabat
USA
• San Diego
• Washington, DC
• Denver
• Los Alamos
• Ogden, U
• Oklahoma City
• Ft. Madison, I
• Panna Maria
• Grants, NM
• Tupelo, MI
4
General Atomics Uranium Resources
GENERAL ATOMICS URANIUM RESOURCES
Rio Grande Resources
ConverDyn
Colorado Mill & Mines Wyoming Property
Cotter Corp GA Energy Services
Australian Companies
Baywood Nuclear Fuels Corp
Heathgate Quasar
Mt. Taylor Mine, New Mexico Texas Properties
Honeywell Energy Services
Uranium Marketing
US Corporations
Four Mile Deposit SA (JV with Alliance Resources Ltd) Exploration, S.A, WA, NT
Beverly Mine, Beverley North Mine SA, Exploration SA
Metropolis, Illinois Conversion Services
LEGEND
5
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 6
Australian Tenements
WA
SA
NT
AMADEUS BASIN, NT
Exploration
AVON BASIN, WA
Exploration
Qld
FROME BASIN, SA
Beverley & Beverley Nth Deposits
Four Mile Deposit
Exploration
NSW
GAWLER CRATON, SA
Exploration
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
Heathgate Tenement and Mining Assets – Frome Basin
Gammon
Ranges
National Park
EL 5177 Wooltana 1396 km2
Heathgate 100 %
EL 5119 North Mulga 691 km2
Heathgate 100 %
EL 4387–Paralana 178 km2
Heathgate 100 %
ML6387 Bev Nth 61 km2
ML6321 Beverley 117 km2
EL 5311 Mt Frome 399 km2
Heathgate 100 %
EL 5328 Mt Frome Nth 268 km2
Heathgate 100 %
EL 5329 Mt Frome Sth 357 km2
Heathgate 100 %
EL 5349 Lake Frome 819 km2
Heathgate 100 %
RL’s 18-20 7.5 km2
Heathgate 100 %
BEVERLEY
PEPEGOONA PANNIKAN
7
TOTAL AREA 4294.5 km2
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
Quasar Tenement and Mining Assets – Frome Basin
8
EL 5261 Petermorra 429 km2
QSR 80%; Paladin 20%
EL 5118 Mt Yerila 622 km2
QSR 80%; Paladin 15%; Risenger 5%
Four Mile East
Four Mile West EL 5017 Arkaroola 780 km2
QSR 75%; Alliance Resources 25%
ML 6402 Four Mile 122.06 km2
QSR 75%; Alliance Resources 25%
TOTAL AREA 1953.06 km2
APA
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 9
Beverley and Beverley North – Frome Basin, SA
BEVERLEY
Port Augusta
ADELAIDE
5km
Beverley Mine Lease
EL3934
Pepegoona
Pepegoona West
Pannikan
Beverley
Deep South
Beverley East
Four Mile
West
Four Mile
East
Discoveries
2009-2010
Production from Q3 2010
Approximately 550km north of Adelaide
Discoveries
2005-2008
Approvals in place to
commence construction
Beverley North Mine Lease
Four Mile Mine Lease
Heathgate Exploration Lease
Discovered 1969
Production from 2000
Quasar/Alliance JV
Exploration Lease
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 10
Pepegoona East & West
Pannikan
Four Mile East
Beverley
Four Mile West
Northern Flinders Ranges
Frome Basin
Rated one of earth’s 5 most naturally radioactive places
Natural Uranium in the Northern Flinders Ranges
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
Uranium in the Frome Basin
11
• Top 2 cm (surface) 1,570,000 lbs has
eroded into the basin
(Av. 2 years production from
Pepegoona, Pannikan)
• In the last 4 million years (time of last
uplift of the ranges) 2.3 billion
pounds of uranium into the basin
near Beverley
• That’s approx. 1600 years of
production at an average of 1Mlbs
per year (assuming 70% recovery)
• HGR have produced 1.3% of this
inventory
Airborne Radiometrics (U channel)
11
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
Rangefront & Palaeochannel Hosted Mineralisation
Rangefront (Fluvial)
12
Flinders Ranges
Palaeochannel
Frome Sedimentary Basin WEST EAST
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
Roll Fronts
13
Groundwater Flow Redox Front
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd
• World’s most advanced In Situ
Recovery (ISR) mine
• Infrastructure includes 1 x processing
plant, 2 x satellite plants, power plant,
airstrip, camp accommodation (180)
• Fly-in/fly-out (2 x Encore Jets) o Sharp Airlines
• Approximately 150 permanent and up
to 50 labour hire employees
• 26% of mine workforce from local
Aboriginal communities
• More than 600+ people in indirect jobs o Thompson Drilling, Cater Care, Kalari,
KJM etc…
14
15
Beverley – History
Beverley was Australia’s first In-Situ Recovery (ISR) mine
• 1969 Beverley deposits discovered
• 1982 First draft Beverley EIS (not progressed due to 3-mines policy)
• 2001 Production commenced at Beverley
• 2009 Beverley North deposits discovered
• 2011 Beverley North Mine approved February 2011
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
ISR Mining Method
• Used since 2000 at Beverley, Pepegoona and Pannikan
• Mining method for 45% of global U3O8 production (1)
• Lower costs compared to conventional
mining • Typical Recovery ~70% in 12 months
For successful ISR mining, ore body must have following properties:
• Ore body must be in an aquifer
• Aquifer sediments must be permeable
• Aquifer ideally is vertically confined
(above and below) by impermeable
layers
16
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 16
Heathgate Production
Source: World Nuclear Association, annual production Statistics
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000Beverley
Pepegoona
Pannikan
lbs
U3O
8
Year
18+ Mlbs (~8000+ tonnes) produced since 2000
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 17
Wellfield
Looking South-West
In-house hydrological flow modelling software:
- Wellfield design
- Flow rates
- Wellfield control
Use of reactive–transport
models to tailor lixiviant
chemistry to each wellfield
30m
Wellfield flow pattern (modelled)
Wellfield design
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 18
Wellfield
>$170M invested in
exploration/delineation
drilling to date
Well costs $40K-$100K
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 19
Ion Exchange – Capture &
Elution
• Resin is used to capture uranium leached in the wellfields
• Loaded resin is stripped using acidified sodium chloride solution (this is the eluate)
• Precipitation, drying and packing at Beverley
Mining solution (100-300ppm U)
from the wellfields is passed
through ion exchange columns
Mine Operation – Uranium Recovery and Processing
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 20
Satellite Plants
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 21
Precipitation, Thickening and Drying - Beverley
Final product is uranyl peroxide (UO4.2H2O)
from low temperature drying (<250oC)
– Precipitation of ‘yellowcake’ by addition of hydrogen peroxide and caustic soda to the eluate
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
Control Room
Central Control - Total control of all
Wellfield and Plant operations (flows,
pressures, leak detection, water
balance, etc)
23
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 23
Four Mile Project
A decision to recommence development of the Four Mile Project was
made in October 2012
Commonwealth regulatory approvals received 2 September 2013
The Start-Up Plan comprises:
• A staged commencement of mining operations, to permit actual
production rates to be considered before full-scale production
facilities are constructed.
• Uranium capture at Heathgate’s Pannikan satellite plant
• Elution, precipitation, drying and packing at Heathgate’s Beverley
processing plant
• Production of 2.128 M lb of uranium oxide over 10 months
Source: Adapted from Alliance Resources Ltd, Company Presentation 23 Oct 2013.
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 24
Four Mile Project
Image source: Four Mile Uranium Mine PEPR, June 2013.
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 25
Four Mile Project
Image source: Four Mile Uranium Mine PEPR, June 2013.
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL
Four Mile
26
FME Wellfield FM Laydown
FME Wellfield
FME Wellhouse
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 27
Four Mile Project - Resources
Source: Alliance Resources Ltd, Company Presentation 23 Oct 2013.
Inferred 29 M lbs
Indicated &Inferred 42 M lbs
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 28
Four Mile Project - Resources
Source: Alliance Resources Ltd, Company Presentation 23 Oct 2013.
PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL 29
Four Mile Project - Resources
Source: Alliance Resources Ltd, Company Presentation 23 Oct 2013.
Thankyou