Husab Mine

The Husab Mine, also known as the Husab Uranium Project, is a uranium mine near the town of Swakopmund in the Erongo region of western-central Namibia. The mine is located approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Walvis Bay. The Husab Mine is expected to be the second largest uranium mine in the world after the McArthur River uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan, Canada and the largest open-pit mine on the African continent. Mine construction started in 2014. The Husab Mine started production towards the end of 2016 after completion of the sulfuric acid leaching plant.[1]

Husab Mine
Husab Mine
Location
Husab Mine is located in Namibia
Husab Mine
Husab Mine
LocationNamib Desert
RegionErongo
CountryNamibia
Coordinates22°36′44″S 15°0′51″E
Production
ProductsUranium
Owner
CompanyChina General Nuclear Power Group, Namibia
Websitehttp://www.swakopuranium.com/

On 1 December 2011, the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy granted license to Swakop Uranium to develop the mine.[2] The Husab Mine uranium is granite hosted. The mine has the potential to produce 15 million pounds (6800 tonnes) of uranium oxide per annum.[3] The Husab mine contains approximately 280 million tonnes of uranium ore. Mining is expected to last nearly 20 years.[4][5]

Geology

Uranium mineralisation is hosted primarily within sheeted leucogranites that intruse the rocks at various stages during the Damara Orogeny. Formation of the uranium magmatic ore body is stratigraphically controlled with the Khan-Rossing boundary acting as a redox front. The abundance of iron oxides and sulfides provide reducing conditions for uranium to be oxidised and precipitate in the form of uraninite which is the primary ore mineral that is mined at Husab.[6]

Swakop Uranium

Swakop Uranium is an entity established in 2006 by Extract Resources, an Australian company listed on the Australian, Canadian, and Namibian stock exchanges, to explore, evaluate, develop, and produce uranium oxide. In April 2012, Swakop Uranium was acquired by Taurus Minerals Limited of Hong Kong. Swakop Uranium head office is located in Swakopmund. Taurus is a subsidiary of the China General Nuclear Power Company (CGNPC), Uranium Resources Co. Ltd. and the China-Africa Development Fund. Taurus owns ninety percent of Swakop Uranium. The remaining 10% is owned by Epangelo Mining Company, the Namibian state-owned mining company.[7] CGNPC's investment in Swakop Uranium is one of the biggest investments in Namibia since its independence, and by far the single biggest investment by China in Africa. More than US$100-million (in excess of N$1-billion) was spent to reach the construction phase. A further amount of approximately US$2-billion (more than N$20-billion) was spent to bring the mine online.[8]

Environment

Flora and fauna

Swakop Uranium has an environmental management plan committed to caring for all species of fauna and flora found near, or within, its exploration and mining areas.[9] Welwitschia mirabilis, an ancient plant, grows in areas around the mine. Carbon dating shows that medium-sized plants can be as old as 1,000 years.

Water

The Husab Project is challenged to ensure that limited nearby water resources are not adversely affected by mining operations. The Namib Desert is a hyper-arid desert with an average rainfall of between 0–50 mm at Swakopmund and Gobabeb. Long-term records from the Rössing Uranium Mine, situated 5 km north of the Husab mine, show an annual average rainfall of between 30–35 mm per annum.[10] A hydrogeology report commissioned by Swakop Uranium concluded that the mining activities will have an effect on water levels. Although there are no farmers or settlements in the area, Swakop Uranium has drilled a number of groundwater monitoring holes around the pit, the waste rock dump, the tailings storage facility, the Welwitschia fields as well as the Khan and Swakop Rivers to measure the effect of mining activities in the area.[11] All the boreholes have their water levels measured monthly and strategic boreholes are sampled every three months for water quality.

Air quality

In order to reduce the dust produced by mining operations to acceptable levels, the Husab mine will employ a number of dust suppression methods such as using water, extraction fans, chemicals, and other suppressants. A dust suppressant will be used on the pit, dump haul roads and other gravel site roads. The use of alternative suppression techniques has the potential to save up to 90% of the water that would otherwise have been required to achieve the same level of control.[12]

Community

Swakop Uranium plans to engage in local procurement and recruitment where possible. The company grants bursaries for promising Namibian university students[13] on an annual basis and has funded the construction of a new school. The company has also established a trust, called the Swakop Uranium Foundation Trust that will focus on training and education, the environment, infrastructure, health, and entrepreneurial development. The trust has donated N$100,000 to the Namibian government's Drought Relief fund.[14]

Safety

Swakop Uranium has instituted a radiation management plan. This plan has been submitted to the National Radiation Protection Authority and is regularly audited to ensure compliance.[15]

Ida Dome

Ida Dome is another deposit located in the western part of Namibia in Erongo Region. The Husab uranium project includes the Ida Dome 20 km south, with 9600 tU inferred resource at 0.02% (contiguous with Reptile's Ongalo).[16] Ida Dome has estimated reserves of 53 million tonnes of ore grading 0.018% uranium.[17]

See also

References
  1. Swakop Uranium. Accessed 8 June 2015. Archived 26 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Mining licence granted for Husab. World nuclear news organisation 30 November. Accessed 27 February 2015.
  3. Namibia: Construction of Husab Uranium Mine Progressing Well. All Africa website 5 August 2013. Accessed 27 February 2015.
  4. Chinese-invested Husab uranium mine kicks off construction in Namibia - Xinhua News.xinhuanet.com 19 April 2013. Accessed 27 February 2015.
  5. Husab Uranium Project details, news, tenders and jobs. EPC Engineer Accessed 27 February 2015.
  6. Kinnaird et al. A Review of geological controls on uranium mineralisation in sheeted leucogranites within the Damara Orogen, Namibia. 2005.
  7. Uranium in Namibia Archived 22 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine World-nuclear.org. Accessed 27 February 2015.
  8. Moolman S. Namibia breaks ground on world’s third-largest uranium deposit. Mining Weekly website. Accessed 27 February 2015.
  9. Passionately energising our world - Sustainability, Environment, Fauna and Flora. Archived 1 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine Swakop Uranium. Accessed 27 February 2015.
  10. Lalley J. and Viles H "Terricolous Lichens in the Northern Namib Desert of Namibia: Distribution and Community Composition." The Lichenologist. The British Lichen Society. 2004 vol 37 p 77-91.
  11. Jolly J. "Husab project - Hydrology." Aquaterra website 2010.
  13. Namibian Broadcasting Corporation - About NBC. Archived 15 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine NBC website Accessed 27 February 2015.
  14. "Namibia: Husab developer supports government drought relief efforts." Namibia Economist via allafrica.com, 20 September 2013.
  15. Passionately energising our world - sustainability, safety. Swakop Uranium. Accessed 27 February 2015. Archived 2 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  16. "Uranium in Namibia". World Nuclear Association. May 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  17. "Uranium in Namibia". wise-uranium.org. 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
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