iaea international atomic energy agency seminar on governance of uranium production activities...

IAEAInternational Atomic Energy Agency

Seminar on Governance of Uranium Production ActivitiesCopenhagen, Denmark

27-28 May 2014

Background to mining and concentrating uranium ore

Peter Woods Team Leader, Raw Materials and Resources Subprogramme

International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, AustriaNuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section

IAEA

Uranium Production Cycle

• The Uranium Production Cycle (UPC) comprises all the activities involved in the production of natural uranium for use as fuel in nuclear energy production and similar applications.

• Simply described, it includes uranium exploration, feasibility studies, development of production facilities, mining and processing, decommissioning and remediation. Management of associated environmental issues is an integral part of the whole cycle.

P. Woods - U general talk, Copenhagen Seminar May 2014 2

IAEA

The nuclear fuel cycle and the UPC

P. Woods - U general talk, Copenhagen Seminar May 20143

IAEA

Uranium Production Cycle

Re-use of land

Prospecting

Rehabilitation/ Remediation

Exploration

Decommissioning Feasibility

Transport Development

Processing & Production

Mining

Stewardship

P. Woods - U general talk, Copenhagen Seminar May 2014 4

IAEA

Types of uranium deposits

• 15 Geological Types of Uranium Deposits* have been identified – some of the main ones of interest are:• Sandstone deposits (all over the word)

• Proterozoic Unconformity-related deposits (Canada, Australia)

• Polymetallic hematite breccia complex deposits (only Olympic Dam (Australia) – is currently producing U)

• Metamorphite deposits (all over the word)

• Intrusive deposits (e.g. Namibia, Greenland)

* proposed by IAEA 2012P. Woods - U general talk, Copenhagen Seminar May 2014

5

IAEAExploration

Handover & Stewardship

Decommissioning & Remediation

Construction and Operation

Residues, Wastes & Impacts

Operational timeline for mine life cycle activities

Waste Mgt. Plan

Planning

Feasibility & development

Eng. Options

Site, Design & Const.

Mgt. Operation

Decom., Closure & Controls

Monitoring and Surveillance

Quality Assurance

Health and Safety

Regulatory Requirements


6

IAEA

Uranium Production

• In 2012 total world uranium production from mines was (WNA):58,394 tonnes U (68,847 t U3O8)

(~151 M lbs U3O8)

c.f. 2011 54,610 t U

c.f. 2010 53,663 t U

• Which represented ~88% of the demand of 65,908 t U for power generation (WNA 2012)

Kazakh yellowcake (uranium ore concentrate) Source: KazAtomProm


7

IAEA

Uranium Producing Countries

During the past 50 years commercially viable deposits of uranium have been extensively exploited in the following countries :

Kazakhstan (1) Canada (2) Australia (3) Niger (4)

Namibia (5) Uzbekistan (6) Russia (7) USA Ukraine China

South Africa Brazil India Czech Republic Romania Pakistan

Germany Madagascar Argentina France Portugal Gabon

Spain DR Congo Bulgaria Hungary Former East Germany

( ) indicates position in world production 2012

Many other smaller mines operated that were strategic, not economic


8

IAEA

2009 - 2012 Uranium Production (t U)

2012 production as U 58 394 tonnes

All data from World Nuclear Association

World Production (tonnes U)

Country 2009 2010 2011 2012

Kazakhstan 14 020 17 803 19 451 21 317

Canada 10 173 9783 9145 8999

Australia 7982 5889 5983 6991

Namibia 4626 4496 3258 4495

Russia (est.) 3564 3562 2993 2872

Niger 3243 4198 4351 4667

Uzbekistan (est.) 2429 2400 3000 3000


9

IAEA

The road to uranium production

• Uranium is where you find it

• Suitable policies and legal/regulatory arrangements need to developed, if not already established

• Social, regulatory, environmental, safety and security aspects should be considered at all stages of a project, from pre-exploration to development and eventual closure

• Financial aspects must also considered; no-one wants a company to go bankrupt part-way through a project


10

IAEA

First steps

• Desktop studies• Examination of regional data, government

reports, old exploration reports

• Non-invasive exploration methods• e.g. remote sensing data, aerial/satellite

photography, aerial geophysical surveys, simple land-based geophysical methods


11

IAEA

Field geological survey


12

IAEA

Exploration drilling


13

Greenland Minerals and Energy Ltd

Heathgate Resources Ltd (Australia)

Cameco Resources Ltd (Australia)

Mesteña Uranium, LLC (USA)

IAEA

Feasibility, Planning and Design

• The economic feasibility is established after more detailed data collection on the ore body

• Also other data are collected for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment, including environmental, social and technical aspects

• Project is designed and plans drawn up• Early document show initial mine plan, etc.• Most projects do not develop exactly as

planned!


14

IAEA

Mining operations producing uranium as a by-product

Former uranium extraction plant at a phosphate fertiliser plant, Florida USA.

P.Waggitt

• Copper mining (Australia; formerly South Africa and the USA).

• Phosphate rock mining (and production of phosphoric acid) (USA)

• Gold mining (South Africa)

• Possibly in the future (e.g. Morocco, Jordan (phosphate), Finland (Ni-Zn), Chile, Zambia (Cu), Australia/Greenland (Rare Earth projects))


15

IAEA

Uranium Mining Methods – Open pit

Open pit / surface excavations• ~25% produced this way

currently

• Relatively large footprint at the surface

• Large stockpiles of waste rock, sub-economic ore and/or overburden

• Potential for waste water, drainage and seepage to cause environmental problems

• May be a possibility for in-pit disposal of tailings &/or waste rock

Above: Rössing U mine, Namibia, (P. Woods)

Below: McClean Lake, Canada (Areva)


16

IAEA

Other examples of Open Pits and a Processing Plant in cold climates


17

Above: Sue B Pit, Canada (Areva)

Above: an ARMZ pit in Russia (web)

Below: Talvivaara, Finland (IAEA file photo)

IAEA

Uranium Mining Methods – Underground

Underground mining•~30% of currently mined uranium production

•Much smaller waste rock production volumes, frequently very little at the surface

•Smaller infrastructure footprint at the surface

•May be possible to dispose of much of the waste underground as backfill in the workings

•Some processing may be possible underground, e.g. McArthur River Canada

Above: McArthur River uranium mine, Canada

Below: Rabbit lake mine, Canada (Cameco)


18

IAEA

In-situ Leach Mining (ISL)

•Sometimes may be called solution mining or ISR (in situ recovery)

• ~35% of world mined uranium was produced this way recently

•Can be acid or alkali leach solution

•Very small volume of waste generation

•Potential to produce waste sludges and evaporite salts of high specific activity but small volume, depending on details of the extraction process

•Limited surface disturbance

Top: Beverley ISL mine, Australia

Bottom: Straz ISL mine Czech RepublicP. Woods - U general talk, Copenhagen Seminar

May 2014

19

IAEA

Uranium recovery from ore

• Crushing (not ISL)

• Grinding (not ISL or heap leach)

• Leaching – acid or alkaline

• Liquid-solid separation (not ISL or heap leach)

• Purification and concentration

• Adsorption (ion exchange) or solvent extraction

• Precipitation, drying (plus calcining at some large mines

• Packing & dispatchUranium mill, Ranger mine,

AustraliaP. Woods - U general talk, Copenhagen Seminar

May 201420

IAEA

Uranium recovery (ISL)

ISL plant, Alta Mesa, USA

Part of ion exchange complex

Plant seen from public road (taken through fence)


21

IAEA

Packing

• Product is called “yellow cake” but can be any uranium concentrate: UO4, U3O8, ADU, MgDU, uranyl peroxide etc

• These products may be coloured reddish, orange to yellow naturally; or dark green to grey or almost black when calcined (in a furnace)

• Packed in drums & shipped to conversion plant

Yellowcake in the packing

plant at Beverley (Heathgate Resources)

Calcined U3O8 (Cameco)

Yellowcake in drums, (Kazatomprom)

P. Woods - U general talk, Copenhagen

Seminar May 2014

22

IAEA 23

Loading containers

Drums of U3O8 being loaded, Cameco

Yellowcake drums awaiting shipment, Czech Republic

Drum label, Australia


IAEA 24

Transport - containers


IAEA 25

Transport – road, rail, sea


iaea international atomic energy agency seminar on governance of uranium production activities...

Documents

uranium production t

iaea uranium production

production of natural

woods u general talk

uranium production cycle

uranium exploration

iaea types of uranium

viable deposits of uranium