Uranium Mining

1
Uranium Mining

• Presented By Matthew Denman
• August 12th 2006

2
Introduction

• Locations of Uranium Deposits
• Map of US Uranium Concentrations
• General Mining Methods
• McArthur River Mine

3
Locations of Uranium Deposits

• Australia is rapidly closing the Uranium
  production gap with Canada
• Canada and Australia Uranium capacity far exceeds
  that of the rest of the world

4
US Uranium Deposits

• Large portions of the US have high grade uranium
  ore (gt2), mainly concentrating in the west and
  northeastern regions.

5
Mining Methods

• Open Pit Mining
• Removes a large percentage of U from the deposit
• Excess topsoil and tails cause environmental
  problems
• Underground Mining
• Less excess material to replace then open pit.
• Radon concerns for mine workers
• In Situ
• Chemicals used to dissolve Uranium and transport
  it to the surface
• Possible groundwater contamination problems

6
McArthur River Mine

• Uranium concentration in ore as high as 23
• Main commercial materials removed from mine are
  zinc and lead
• In April of 2003 the mine was damaged when water
  rich in radon gas flooded the mine
• Work teams entered the mine without respirators
  in an attempt to limit the damage cause by the
  flood
• No worker received more then the federal limit on
  radon exposure
• In August of 2005 the McArthur River Mining
  company announced it was converting from an
  underground mine to a open pit mine to access
  more ore

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Conclusions

• Locations of Uranium Deposits
• Map of US Uranium Concentrations
• General Mining Methods
• McArthur River Mine

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References

• CBC, 48 Hours, http//www.cbc.ca/investigate/cam
  eco/index.html. 9/11/06, 9/11/06
• Cochran and Tsoulfanidis, The Nuclear Fuel Cycle
  Analysis and Management, American Nuclear
  Society, 1999
• High Beam Encyclopedia, http//www.encyclopedia.co
  m/doc/1E1-thorium.html, 9/11/06
• IAEA, http//www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Statements/DD
  Gs/2006/sokolov01062006.html, 9/11/06
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
  http//imglib.lbl.gov/ImgLib/COLLECTIONS/BERKELEY-
  LAB/RESEARCH-1991-PRESENT/EARTH-SCIENCES/images/19
  93Highlights_pg17_chart2.lowres.jpeg, 9/11/06
• Uranium Information Centre Ltd,
  http//www.uic.com.au/nip41.htm, 9/11/06

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THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION