Khiagdinskoye uranium output from end-2016

JSC Khiagda has confirmed that it expects to start commercial production of uranium from its Khiagdinskoye deposit from the end of 2016. JSC Khiagda is part of Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ), the uranium mining subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

JSC Khiagda's operations are at Vitimsky in Buryatia about 500 km northwest of Priargunsky's operations in Chita region, 140 km north of Chita city. They are starting from a low base - in 2010 production was 135 tU, rising to 440 tU in 2013 (fully utilising the pilot plant) and targeting 1000 tU/yr from 2018 with a new plant. These are a low-cost (US$ 40/kg) acid in situ leach (ISL) operations in sandstones, and comprise the only ISL mine in the world in permafrost. Groundwater temperature is 1-4°C, giving viscosity problems, especially when winter air temperature is -40°C.

The main uranium mineralisation is a phosphate, requiring oxidant addition to the acid solution. In the Khiagda field itself there are eight palaeochannel deposits over 15 x 8 km, at depths of 90 to 280 metres (average 170 m). Single orebodies are up to 4 km long and 15 to 400 m wide, 1 to 20 m thick.

The Priargunsky mine - a large open-pit mine located in the southern part of Russia, in Zabaykalsky Krai - is one of the largest uranium reserves in Russia with known resources (RAR + IR) quoted in 2011 as 115,000 tU at 0.159%U. In 2013 its 'reserves' were quoted by ARMZ at 108,700 t. The OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency's 2014 Red Book puts the resources figure at 98,000 tU resources. That publication puts resources for Khiagda at 32,000 tU.

ARMZ announced in mid-2014 that Khiagda was preparing to develop the Khiagdinskoye uranium field, adding that this could become the centre of the country's uranium mining industry.

JSC Khiagda has resources of 55,000 tU amenable to ISL mining, with potential estimated at 100,000 tU, though in 2013 'reserves' were quoted by ARMZ at 39,800 tonnes. The 2008 ARMZ plan envisaged production from JSC Khiagda's Khiagdinskoye project increasing to 1800 tU/yr by 2019, but in 2013 the higher target was postponed.

The company said it aims to start mining the Istochnoye and Vershinnoye deposits 5-10 km from Khiagda from 2016 and 2017, respectively, and development of these is proceeding. In 2013 reserves were confirmed for the Dybrynskoye, Koretkondinskoye, Kolichikanskoye and Vershinnoye fields or deposits. The other two fields in the immediate vicinity are Namaru and Tetrakhskoye. All these occur over an area about 50 x 20 km and within 15 km of Khiagda field. There are also plans to install plant for extracting rare earth oxides (REO) as by-product. Rudnik Kadala is the town for Vitimsky district.

"The most promising part" of the Khiagdinskoye project, the Istochnoye deposit, has estimated reserves of 2055 tonnes of uranium, according to ARMZ.

Khiagda started developing the field in December last year. Russian news agency Ria Novosti reported that the company has already drilled 20 wells covering a linear area of 4.6 thousand metres. By April, that figure is expected to increase to 16,000 metres, with drilling work to be completed by the end of 2016.

Vladimir Verkhovtseva, general director of ARMZ, held a meeting last week with the head of the Republic of Buryatia, Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn. In a statement, ARMZ said on 29 January that more than RUB19 billion ($276 million) has been invested in the Khiagdinskoye deposit to date.

Verkhovtsev said the Khiagdinskoye deposit is "probably one of the most important" prospects for the development of uranium mining in the republic. Work has been completed on the construction of the main production facility and the sulfuric acid plant, which has a design capacity of up to 110,000 tonnes per year, he added.

JSC Khiagda produced 442 tonnes of uranium last year and expects to produce 508 tonnes of uranium this year, he said. By 2018, it expects to reach 1000 tonnes of uranium per year.

The 2008 ARMZ plan envisaged production from the Khiagdinskoye deposit increasing to 1800 tU per year by 2019, but in 2013 the higher target was postponed.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News