Yeelirrie uranium project
The Yeelirrie uranium deposit is a near-surface uranium deposit in Australia. It is located about 70 km south west of Wiluna and 420 kilometers north of Kalgoorlie in the state of Western Australia.
The name comes from a Yeelirrie sheep breeding station, the language of the local Aborigines is borrowed and means place of death.
Occurrence
The deposit was discovered in 1972 and explored until 1980 by 6,000 holes. It covers an area of 9 km ², with a width of 1 km. The average depth is 15 m up to 25 m. There is an average of seven meter thick conglomerate layer with an average coverage of five and a half meters. The deposit is part of the sandstone - type uranium content of her is 0.14 to 0.15% of. The total content of the deposit is to 44,000 tonnes of uranium oxide (measured as uranium (V, VI ) oxide U3O8 ) estimated; as a byproduct of vanadium falls.
History
In March 1979, the uranium mining should start protesting the unions Transport Workers Union of Australia, Australian Railways Union, Seamen Union and Waterside Workers Federation and declared that they will not transport uranium ore. The mining industry in 1983 ended when the ruling Labor Party decided to allow only three mines (Three mine policy, translated three- mines policy). Yeelirrie was not one of these mines. Subsequently, investors withdrew from the project and it was discontinued; falling uranium prices due to dwindling demand also played a role. Further discussions about the project come in 1985, when 4,000 tons of uranium oxide should be obtained. Initial studies of the project came to the conclusion that it would create 27,000 tonnes of radioactive waste and the staff should be protected from radon gas only.
WMC was taken over by BHP Billiton in 2005
By 2008, the Western Australian provincial government had a uranium mining ban imposed, which was canceled after the election defeat of the Labour Party by the Liberal Party. Against this political decision, there were protests from the Anti- Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia. The local Aboriginal criticized the government and demanded guarantees for their land and the animals living there.
Planned reduction
The Yeeliree project is driven by the BHP Billiton now since 2008 and is one of three uranium exploration projects in Western Australia and is scheduled to begin its production in 2014. The other projects are located on Lake Maitland, the start its production in 2012, and at Lake Way, which will remove uranium in 2013.
The Yeelirrie deposit is according to data from BHP Billiton 's second-largest uranium deposit in Australia. When the government of the Australian state Western Australia allowed uranium mining from 2008, BHP Billiton undertook from November 2008 further investigation and intends to include the reduction from 2014. To process the uranium ore processing plant with a capacity of 80 t of yellowcake per week to be built. While initially an annual production of 2,000 tonnes of U3O8 was planned, BHP Billiton presented in February 2010, a request for extension of funding approval to 3,500 tons per year, as a reduction below this amount is uneconomical.
The degraded uranium is to be transported through South Australia to the Northern Territory with the railroad.