February 2004
The existence of uranium ore in Australia has been known since the 1890s. In the 1930s ores were mined at Radium Hill and Mount Painter in South Australia to recover minute amounts of radium for medical purposes. As a result a few hundred kilograms of uranium were also produced and used as a bright yellow pigment in glass and ceramics.
Uranium ores as such were mined and treated in Australia from the 1950s until 1971. Radium Hill, SA, Rum Jungle, NT, and Mary Kathleen, Queensland, were the largest producers of uranium (as yellowcake). Production ceased either when ore reserves were exhausted or contracts were filled. Sales were to supply material primarily intended for USA and UK weapons programs at that time. However much of it was used in civil electricity production. See also UIC Former Uranium Mines paper.
THE SECOND PHASE OF MINING
The development of civil nuclear power stimulated a second wave of exploration activity in the late 1960s. New contracts for uranium sales (to be used for electric power generation) were made by Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd., Queensland Mines Ltd., and Ranger Uranium Mines Pty. Ltd., in the years 1970-72. Successive governments (both Liberal Coalition and Labor) approved these, and Mary Kathleen began recommissioning its mine and mill in 1974. Consideration by the Commonwealth Government of additional sales contracts was deferred pending the findings of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, and its decision in the light of these. Mary Kathleen recommenced production in 1976.
The Commonwealth Government announced in 1977 that new uranium mining was to proceed, commencing with the Ranger project in the Northern Territory. This mine opened in 1981.
In 1979, Queensland Mines opened Nabarlek in the same region of Northern Territory. The orebody was mined out in one dry season and the ore stockpiled for treatment from 1980. A total of 9207 tonnes of uranium was produced and sold to Japan, Finland and France, 1981-88. The mine site is now rehabilitated.
At the end of 1982 the Mary Kathleen mine in Queensland was depleted and finally closed down after 4072 tonnes of uranium had been produced in its second phase of operation. This then became the site of Australia's first major rehabilitation project of a uranium mine, which was completed at the end of 1985 at a cost of some A $19 million.
In the 1983 federal election the Australian Labor Party (ALP) won government and in 1984 the ALP National Conference amended the Party platform to what became known as "the three mines policy", nominating Ranger, Nabarlek and Olympic Dam as the only projects from which exports would be permitted. Provisional approvals for marketing from other prospective uranium mines were cancelled. This policy persisted until the Liberal-National Party Coalition government came to power in 1996.
Also in 1983 the Australian Government banned uranium exports to France, but then agreed to purchase uranium from Nabarlek which was under contract to French utilities. In 1986 the embargo was lifted and in 1988 the Ranger contract with France was signed. However, in 1995 new contracts with France were banned and this policy briefly survived the change of government in 1996.
The Mines
Ranger opened in 1981 at a production rate of approximately 2800 tonnes per year of uranium and has since been expanded to 4240 tU/yr capacity. Sales are to Japan, South Korea, France, Spain, Sweden, UK, Canada & USA. Ranger is owned by Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA), now a subsidiary of Rio Tinto.
During 1988 the Olympic Dam project, then a joint venture of Western Mining Corporation and BP Minerals, commenced operations. This is a large underground mine in central South Australia, producing copper, gold and uranium. Annual production capacity for uranium has been expanded from 1500 to 3900 tonnes U, with sales to USA, Canada, Sweden, UK, Belgium, France, Finland, South Korea and Japan. It is now owned by WMC Ltd.
Both Ranger and the now-closed and rehhabilitated Nabarlek mines are on aboriginal land in the Alligator Rivers region of the Northern Territory, close to the Kakadu National Park (in fact the Ranger leases are surrounded by the National Park). Ranger is served by the township of Jabiru, constructed largely for that purpose. During the operation of Nabarlek mine, employees were based in Darwin and commuted by air.
Aboriginal people receive royalties of 4.25% on sales of uranium from Northern Territory mines. The total received is now over A $167 million, mostly from Ranger.
The Olympic Dam mine is on formerly pastoral land in the middle of South Australia. A town to accommodate 3500 people was built at Roxby Downs to service the mine.
Following the 1996 change in government policy, three other projects were brought forward:
Jabiluka will be an extension of the Ranger operation and will take combined production to 5000 tU/yr. The last two are small in situ leach operations.
Beverley started operation late in 2000. It is Australia's first in situ leach (ISL) mine and is licensed to produce 1000 tU/yr. In 2002 it produced 633 tonnes U and in 2003, 608 tonnes U.
Honeymoon received government approval to proceed with mine ISL development in November 2001.
Collectively these three projects are likely to increase production capacity to over 10,000 tonnes per year of uranium.
See also UIC papers Australia's Uranium Mines and Prospective Mines.
Australian Uranium Production and Exports
| 1995-6 | 1996-7 | 1997-8 | 1998-9 | 1999-00 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | ||
| Production | tonnes U3O8 | 5105 | 5995 | 5797 | 6396 | 8199 | 9645 | 7717 | 9149 |
| Exports | tonnes U3O8 | 5286 | 5701 | 6415 | 5989 | 8023 | 9723 | 7366 | 9592 |
| Exports | A $ million, FOB | 242 | 245 | 288 | 288 | 367 | 497 | 361 | 427 |
Production and export by calendar year:
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | |
| production (tonnes U3O8) | 5866 | 6473 | 5799 | 7055 | 8937 | 9119 | 8083 | 8958 |
| production (tonnes U) | 4974 | 5489 | 4917 | 5982 | 7578 | 7733 | 6854 | 7596 |
| exports (tonnes U3O8) | 5424 | 6916 | 5553 | 7578 | 8757 | 9239 | 7637 | 9612 |
| exports (tonnes U) | 4599 | 5864 | 4709 | 6426 | 7426 | 7834 | 6476 | 8151 |
| export price ($A/kg U3O8) | 45.75 | 41.49 | 48.57 | 46.06 | 48.65 | 50.09 | 47.57 | 41.41 |
| export price ($A/kg U) | 53.95 | 48.93 | 57.28 | 54.32 | 57.37 | 59.07 | 56.10 | 48.83 |
| export price (US$/lb U3O8) | 16.81 | 13.96 | 13.84 | 13.48 | 12.85 | 11.78 | 11.73 | 12.24 |
URANIUM EXPORTS FROM AUSTRALIA
Australian exports over the last four years have averaged almost 7500 tonnes per year of uranium, providing about 25% of world uranium supply from mines. Uranium comprises 42% of the country's energy exports (4066 PJ in 2002-03) in thermal terms.
Australia's uranium is sold strictly for electrical power generation only, and safeguards are in place to ensure this. Australia is a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclear weapons state. Its safeguards agreement under the NPT came into force in 1974 and it was the first country in the world to bring into force the Additional Protocol in relation to this - in 1997.
In the five years to mid 2003 Australia exported 40,693 tonnes of uranium oxide concentrate (34,506 tU) with a value of over A$1.9 billion. The nations which currently purchase Australia's uranium are set out below. All have a large commitment to nuclear power:
The USA generates around 30% of the world's nuclear power. Much of its uranium comes from Canada, but Australia is a major source. Japan and South Korea however are important customers due to their increasing dependence on nuclear.
Customer countries' contracted imports of Australian uranium oxide concentrate (U3O8) may be summarised as follows, (but see also the reactor table):
USA: c 3000 tonnes per year - 104 reactors (supplying 20% of electricity).
Japan: c 3000 tonnes per year - 54 reactors (supplying 34% of electricity)
South Korea: c 1000 tonnes per year - 17 reactors (39% of electricity)
EU: about 800 tonnes per year, including:
Spain: 9 reactors (29% of electricity)
France: 59 reactors (77% of electricity)
UK: 31 reactors (23% of electricity)
Sweden: 11 reactors (44% of electricity)
Germany: 19 nuclear reactors (31% of electricity)
Belgium: 7 reactors (58% of electricity)
Finland: 4 reactors (31% of electricity)
Australia is a preferred uranium supplier to world, especially East Asian, markets. It could readily increase its share of the world market because of its low cost reserves and its political and economic stability.
Australia has over 40% of the world's lowest-cost uranium resources (under US$ 40/kg). Nearly all of Australia's 667 000 tonnes of Reasonably Assured Resources of uranium alone (to US $30/lb U3O8 or $80/kg U) are in the under US$ 40/kg U category. This compares with Kazakhstan (327 000 t), Canada (315 000 tonnes), South Africa (231 000 tonnes) and Namibia (144 000 tonnes). The following table shows these plus Estimated Additional Resources.
| tonnes U | percentage of world | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 863,000 | 28% |
| Kazakhstan | 472,000 | 15% |
| Canada | 437,000 | 14% |
| South Africa | 298,000 | 10% |
| Namibia | 235,000 | 8% |
| Brazil | 197,000 | 6% |
| Russian Fed. | 131,000 | 4% |
| USA | 104,000 | 3% |
| Uzbekistan | 103,000 | 3% |
| World total | 3,107,000 |
General Sources:
ABARE, DITR, ANSTO,
ERA & WMC quarterly and Annual Reports
or Return to Index
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