dr. mohamed h. taha - unece...dr. mohamed h. taha interregional workshop on uranium, coal and oil...
TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Mohamed H. Taha
Interregional workshop on uranium, coal and oil & gas classification:
Towards a better understanding of energetic basins and application of
UNFC-2009
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
16 - 19 August, 2016
Uranium Resources in Egypt
Conventional Resources
Unconventional Resources
Phosphate Rock
Black Sand
Granites
Shale
Phosphate Importance
Main Challenges for sustainable development in the 21 century are
food security and energy security.
These Challenges are in favors of U recovery from phosphoric acid.
Distribution of phosphate deposits in Egypt
Nile Valley Phosphate
Photographs Show the phosphatic open-cust mine of El-
Sibaiya East. Note: the product phosphatic bed of Duwi
Formation underlain the Dakhla Formation.
Chemical composition of El-Sebaeya
phosphate deposit
Compound Carbonate VarietyCarbonate‐ Siliceous
Variety
Clayey –Carbonate
Variety
P2O3 22.7 21.24 20.28
CaO2 48.06 38.44 40.16
SiO2 4.80 13.05 12.07
Al2O3 0.32 0.42 0.95
Fe2O3 0.94 1.03 1.50
MgO 0.32 0.44 0.86
SO3 0.20 ----- ----
CO2 17.70 11.10 12.06
I.R. 4.86 14.08 12.04
UNFC-2009 Categories
Uranium is recovered from phosphates as a by-
product therefore, classification of uranium by
UNFC 2009 system is completely depends on the
classification of phosphate deposit by UNFC 2009
system also.
According to CRIRSCO Template in Sebaeya-Nile Valley deposit,
there are about 49.0 Mt proved phosphate Reserves (34 Mt in
East Sebaeya and 15 Mt in east Sebaeya). In addition, there are
about 180 Mt Indicated Resources of phosphates in Sebaeya area
(80 Mt in East Sebaeya and 100 Mt in West Sebaeya. The Inferred
phosphate Resource in the two El-Sebaeya projects is about
2,384.0 Mt. Assuming an 80 per cent recovery for the Resources,
a total of 2,100.2 Mt phosphate rocks are classified according to
UNFC-2009 as G1, G2 and G3 quantities.
G axis
EI-Nasr Mining Company is mining phosphate rock from El-Sebaeya
site many years and in 2013, the production was about 3 Mt. These
quantities are directly sold in the market. The quantities of
phosphate rock reported under the currently operating mine can be
considered as F 1.1, i.e., “extraction is currently taking place”.
World consumption of P2O5 contained in fertilizers and industrial
uses was projected to increase gradually from 43.7 million tons in
2015 to 48.2 million tons in 2019. This means that phosphate rock
production project in Sebaeya site is E1.1, i.e. “extraction and sale is
economic on the basis of current market conditions and realistic
assumptions of future market conditions”.
F axis
E axis
Phosphate Reserves and Resources in Nile valley, Egypt, Effective date: 2013
According to UNFC 2009 system, phosphate resources in Nile Valley
are designated as Commercial Project and Potentially Commercial Project.
Area Project Average P
2O
5
Content, %
CRIRSCO
Classification UNFC-2009 Class
UNFC-2009
Sub-Class
UNFC-2009 Categories Phosphate rock
quantities (Mt)
Estimated PR
recoverable, Mt E F G
Nile Valley
Deposit
E. El-Sebaeya 29-30
Proved Reserves Commercial Project On production 1.1 1.1 1 34.0 34.0
Indicated Resources Potentially
Commercial Project
Justified for
Development 2 2.1
2 80.0 64.0
Inferred Resources 3 1,674.0 1,339.2
Additional Quantities in Place 3.3 4 1,2,3
350.8
W. El-Sebaeya 27
Proved Reserves Commercial Project On production 1.1 1.1 1 15.0 15.0
Indicated Resources Potentially
Commercial Project
Justified for
Development 2 2.1
2 100.0 80.0
Inferred Resources 3 710.0 568.0
Additional Quantities in Place 3.3 4 1,2,3
162.0
Total quantities (excluding Additional Quantities in Place) 2,100.2
Total quantities (including Additional Quantities in Place) 2,613.0
In the beginning of 2015, the Egyptian President
decided to re-start the construction process for
the phosphate complex in El-Sebaeya location.
The phosphate complex will produce about
200,000 ton P2O5/ year phosphoric acid.
The average uranium content in the El-Sebaeya phosphate projects is
about 90 ppm. It is assumed that:
• 72 % phosphate rock being used in phosphoric acid production.
• 90 % of the uranium present in the phosphate rock will report to
phosphoric acid and the rest will remain in the phosphogypsum
co-product.
• 90 % of the uranium can be extracted from the phosphoric acid
using currently available technology.
After applying all the above recovery factors, it is estimated that
approximately 107,173.20 tonnes of uranium can eventually be
recovered from the phosphate rocks.
G axis
The pre-feasibility study for uranium recovery from El-Sebaeya
phosphate rock is under progress and is expected to be completed
by the end of 2016. Therefore, uranium quantities from El-Sebaeya
phosphate rock project are considered F 2.1 “Project activities are
ongoing to justify development in the foreseeable future”.
The OPEX for uranium production process by this complex will be
$40-50 /Ib U3O8 ($100/Kg U) which is close to the uranium long
term and spot price in August 2015 ($ 35 - $ 45/Ib U3O8 or $ 80/Kg
U). This means that uranium recovery from Sebaeya phosphate rock
can be considered E2 – “extraction and sale is expected to become
economically viable in the foreseeable future”.
F axis
E axis
Uranium Resources in Nile valley phosphate deposits, Effective date: 2013
Area Project Average U
Content, ppm
CRIRSCO
Classification UNFC-2009 Class
UNFC-2009 Sub-
Class
UNFC-2009
Categories Estimated recoverable U
from PA, (tU) E F G
Nile Valley
Deposit
E. El-Sebaeya
90
Proved Reserves
Potentially Commercial
Project
Development
Pending 2 2.1
1 1,735.0
Indicated Resources 2 3,265.9
Inferred Resources 3 68,339.4
Additional Quantities in Place 3.3 4 1,2,3 87,579.7
W. El-Sebaeya
Proved Reserves
Potentially Commercial
Project
Development
Pending 2 2.1
1 765.5
2 4,082.4 Indicated Resources
Inferred Resources 3 28,985.0
Additional Quantities in Place 3.3 4 1,2,3 40,417.1
Total quantities (excluding Additional Quantities in Place) 107,173.2
Total quantities (including Additional Quantities in Place) 235,170.0
According to UNFC 2009 system, uranium resources in Nile Valley are
designated as Potentially Commercial Project.
• Uranium recovered from phosphates as a co- or by-product
therefore, classification of uranium by UNFC 2009 system is
completely depends on the classification of phosphate deposit by
UNFC 2009 system also.
• Total quantities of uranium estimated for Nile valley deposit is
107,173 tones U, which is the most significant source of uranium
in Egypt as on date.
• Based on the project activities such as pre-feasibility study that is
ongoing, this uranium can be classified as a Potentially Commercial
Project.
To
Dr. Hari
Tulsidas