By:Staff Writer
Russian state-owned atomic energy corporation Rosatom has discovered a large uranium deposit in Namibia.
This, according to Kirill Yegorov-Kirillov, the Director of Mining Projects at Rosatom’s Uranium One Group, has given hope for the discovery of a new uranium province in the country.
Yegorov-Kirillov was speaking at the Geological Exploration and Mining: Russian technologies – Africa session at the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg Friday.
“The Wings project in Namibia was discovered by Russian specialists. It has a similar geology to deposits in Kazakhstan. Now that we have discovered a new large uranium deposit, it gives us hope for the discovery of a new uranium province in Namibia,” he said.
The discovery of new deposits of the sandstone type is also a possibility in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Zambia, Yegorov-Kirillov said.
Mining at these deposits can be carried out using the in-situ leaching method, which has not been used in Africa before, he said. There is almost no effect on the surface of the earth, and further reclamation occurs naturally. The technology also makes it possible to develop poorer deposits. Today, more than 62% of the world’s uranium is mined this way, Yegorov-Kirillov added.
Earlier, Rosatom announced plans to start mining uranium in Namibia by 2029.
The corporation ¬plans to complete the prospecting and exploration phase of the project by 2026, dubbed the Wings project. Exploration started in 2010, with geological studies conducted between 2018 and 2021 confirming the presence of a large sandstone-type uranium deposit.
With an initially-projected lifespan of 25 years, the project will proceed to its next stage of development following data collection, an environmental impact study and costs.
At a total investment of $500 million, planned output at the project is measured at 3,000 metric tonnes of uranium per year. Rosatom will utilise the method – the primary method of uranium mining worldwide but insitu leaching a first in Africa – with the aim of ensuring effective and sustainable production.
According to Egorov-Kirillov, “If exploration and prospecting results are positive and the use of insitu leaching is justified, more than $300 million (N$4,467 million) may be invested in a uranium mill.”
Following the start of production, the Wings project is expected to increase Namibia’s Gross Domestic Product by between 1% and 2%.
Egorov-Kirillov added that “over $50 million (N$744.5 million) has been invested in the Namibian economy since the launch of the Project Wings.
“This will make a sizable contribution to the national budget and create 500 jobs for the locals. Even now, while exploration activities are still underway, our contractors hire local professionals. Last year, over 150 local residents worked for the project,” he notes.
