JSC Dalur gets licence for Dobrovolnoye deposit

JSC Dalur has received a permit to develop the Dobrovolnoye uranium deposit in the Kurgan region of Russia. JSC Dalur is a subsidiary of ARMZ, the uranium mining division of state nuclear corporation Rosatom. The permit was issued according to government decree dated 3 June, ARMZ said on 5 June.

The Dobrovolnoye deposit has estimated reserves of 7067 tonnes of uranium and its commissioning will enable JSC Dalur to increase the volume of uranium recovery from the current 590 tonnes per year to 700 tonnes by 2025, ARMZ said.

JSC Dalur has been working in the Kurgan region since 2001 and operates in two deposits there - Dalmatovskoye in the district of the same name and Khokhlovskoye, which is in the Shumikhinsky district. A total of 591 tonnes of uranium were produced last year, the same level as in 2015, ARMZ said. JSC Dalur uses in-situ recovery technology, which is also being used by ARMZ subsidiary JSC Khiagda at the Vitimskoe deposit in the Republic of Buryatia, ARMZ said.

Development of a third uranium deposit in the Kurgan region is "first and foremost" based on the state's requirement to meet the needs of the Russian nuclear industry, ARMZ said. In addition, development of Dobrovolnoye will preserve jobs at the company after the currently operational Dalmatovskoye and Khokhlovskoye deposits have been depleted.

The deposit is expected to contribute more than RUB25 billion ($439 million) to state funds.

JSC Dalur has fully complied with the requirements of current legislation in Russia in preparing a deposit as well as building and operating all the required facilities, ARMZ said. Having received the permit, the company will start work on preparing project documentation, including an environmental engineering survey and an environmental impact assessment, in preparation for development of the field, construction and operation of all facilities, ARMZ said. All this preparatory work is expected to be completed before the end of this year, it added. After this, and in accordance with legal requirements, a public hearing and discussion forum will be held with the residents of Zverinogolovsky District.

Alexander Burutin, chairman of JSC Dalur's board of directors, said: "If a positive decision is reached at the public hearing, the project will move on to FSE Glavgosexpertiza for state assessment, expected in early 2018. Only once this entire sequence has been followed and a positive GGE conclusion has been received, will we be able to start geological exploration, and then experimental production."

Residents of Zverinogolovsky District have been supportive of JSC Dalur's activities to date and in late January they wrote to Rosatom director-general Alexey Likhachov, asking him to expedite the Dobrovolnoye project to support the local economy, ARMZ said. JSC Dalur plans to open an information centre in Zverinogolovskoye in a few weeks, it added.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News