Etango Uranium Project - EPL 3345 | uranium mine

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The Etango Uranium Project, although not the largest, is among the larger undeveloped uranium projects in the world. Once in production it is expected to produce between 7-9 million pounds U3O8 per year for the first five years and 6-8 million pounds U3O8 per year thereafter. It will have a minimum mine life of 16 years with significant expansion potential through the conversion of existing Inferred Resource as well as new drilling underway targeting a mine life in excess of 20 years.

In May 2005, Bannerman acquired an 80 per cent interest in its Namibian subsidiary and became focused on the company’s Namibian properties, in particular the Etango Project, formerly named the Goanikontes Project.

The project is 80% owned by Bannerman Resources which in turn owns Bannerman Mining Resources (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd (Bannerman Namibia). Bannerman Namibia was initially incorporated in Namibia under the name Turgi Investments Pty Ltd and subsequently changed its name on 20 September 2006 to Bannerman Mining Resources (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd. The remaining 20 per cent interest is held by Mr Clive Jones (for himself and on behalf of a business associate in Perth, Australia).

The “Rössing type” uranium mineralisation at the Etango Project occurs within a stacked sequence of leucograntic sheets that have intruded the host Damara Sequence of metasedimentary rocks. The uranium bearing minerals are predominantly uraninite and uranothorite and are hosted within granitic intrusions that vary in thickness from 3 metres to 135 metres. They occur over 150 metres to 1,400 metres in length and dip between -20 to -40 degrees to the west. The granite host unit is locally termed “Alaskite”.

The conventional open pit mining operation will utilise 550t hydraulic back-hoe excavators and 220 tonne diesel/electric haul trucks. Drilling and blasting will be conducted on 12 metre benches and mining on 4-4.5 metre flitches to minimise ore dilution. With this configuration, the mining rate is scheduled at a maximum 100 million tonnes per year. The Etango deposit outcrops at surface and, as a result, processing commences 3 months after the first production blast. The open pit is relatively shallow with an average end-of-mine depth of 240 metres below surface, and a low average waste to ore strip ratio of 3.3.