Australian uranium explorer Extract Resources has said the Rossing South project in Namibia has the potential to be one of the world’s largest uranium mines, according to the company’s latest report.
The company’s preliminary capital and operating cost estimates report shows annual capital costs for the project to be about $704m with operating costs of about $23.6 per pound of U3O8.
Rossing South, located within the Husab uranium project, is expected to have an annual production of 14.8 million pounds of U3O8.
The mine can support conventional open pit mining with a 15 million tonne per annum agitated tank leach process plant for more than 20 years, Extract Resources managing director Peter McIntyre said.
“The availability of infrastructure combined with the confirmed resource and the outstanding exploration potential still to be tested on the Husab project, should ensure a long and successful mining operation centred on Rossing South,” McIntyre said.
The report represents the company’s base case study while it continues metallurgical test work and engineering optimisation that will consider options such as a heap-leaching component, the company said.
