Adelaide, Sep 7, 2006 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The uranium potential of its emerging US$800 million Lumwana copper mine in Zambia is being re-evaluated by project owner, Australia's Equinox Minerals Limited - but will not detract from the Company's core copper focus.
Addressing the Paydirt Media 2006 Africa Downunder Conference in Perth today, attended by a record more than 400 delegates, Equinox's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Craig Williams, said Lumwana had discrete high grade uranium veins within the project's copper pits.
"In the current high price market for uranium, we are re-evaluating the potential for a significant uranium by-product from the mine," Mr Williams said.
"The project has a uranium resource of 12.1 million tonnes grading 0.082% uranium oxide for a contained uranium resource of 21.8 million pounds within the 170 million pounds copper resource.
"The uranium is not part of our current development plan but may now be an add-on to this plan as Lumwana's Bankable Feasibility Study was based around a uranium price of US$11 a pound compared to the current U$50 a pound."
Mr Williams said the plant design for uranium extraction provided metallurgically for a 97% uranium recovery with no contamination of the copper concentrate.
Lumwana, one of the world's largest undeveloped copper projects, is due to be commissioned in the first half of calendar 2008, producing 169,000 tonnes of copper annually in its first six years with a total mine life of 37 years.
Contact
Kevin Skinner
Senior Consultant
FIELD PUBLIC RELATIONS
231 South Road
MILE END SA 5031
Tel: (08) 8234 9555
Fax: (08) 8234 9566
Mob: 0414 822 631
kevin@fieldpr.com.au
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