Modern Mining November 2022

NUCLEAR ENERGY

subsequently renamed Etango-8, signifying a throughput of 8 mtpa throughput which would generate 3,5 mlbs U308 “or enough to power 7 – 8 GW of nuclear power plants”. “The decision to develop a smaller plant has been the largest single change in the past few years as we had already undertaken all the critical de-risking for the project, in the period between 2012 and 2019, when we completed a DFS on a larger scale project. Following the success of the DFS, we established and operated a pilot plant to prove the success of the project,” explains Munro. Etango-8 construction will take 18-24 months to complete, after which Bannerman will mine 60 mlbs of uranium during the first 15 years of the life of mine and thereafter look to mine deeper reserves. “The Etango project,” continues Munro, “offers scalability and the potential to unlock an enormous orebody over many decades, which is attractive to utilities looking to match the long life of their power projects to that of a long-life mining operation.” Despite being a low-grade bulk tonnage mine, delivering at a grade of 230 ppm, the Etango-8 project benefits from a homogenous orebody, a low stripping ratio and simple metallurgy. “In fact, the metallurgy is so amenable to heap leaching that we built a demonstration plant which we operated for three years to prove the extraordinary leach dynam ics,” says Munro. Aside from being well located, being close to essential infrastructure such as road, rail, port and power, Etango-8 will access desalinated water from the local Swakopmund reservoir. “Etango-8 is equipped with various advantages that will allow us unlock robust economics as the ura nium price continues to improve,” concludes Munro. When constructed, Etango-8 will provide 750 per manent jobs to the community of Swakopmund. 

completing the DFS on Etango-8 and progress the front-end engineering and design (FEED). “The immediate focus for Bannerman,” says Munro “is on the final completion of the Etango-8 DFS, which is planned for this calendar year, fol lowed by advancing the front-end engineering and design. From there, our focus will be on financing and construction, for which we will require total fund ing of around $300-million.” Although the Etango project was initially envis aged to be developed as one of the world’s largest uranium projects, with a throughput of 20 mtpa capable of generating some 7,2 mlbs U 3 O 8 (suffi cient to power 17 – 18 GW of nuclear power projects), the company, in 2019, took a strategic decision to develop it as a smaller operation. Aside from lower development hurdles, a smaller mine will allow Bannerman to begin production sooner, and thereby become cash generative more quickly than initially planned. Following the revised plan, the project was

Etango location map.

Namibia Namibia has been the 4 th largest producer of ura nium in the world for the last several years, rising to third in the past two years.

Bannerman is rolling out a number of community development initiatives.

22  MODERN MINING  November 2022