THE South Australian Government has approved construction of South Australia’s third uranium mine: Uranium One Australia’s Honeymoon Project.
The Department of Primary Industries and Resources SA (PIRSA) approved the Mining and Rehabilitation Program (MARP), under the Mining Act 1971, for construction of the wellfield process plant and related infrastructure at Honeymoon, located 400km north-east of Adelaide.
Honeymoon will be capable of producing some 400 tonnes of uranium oxide a year, resulting in an expected mine life of six to seven years, according to the Government.
Based on this production rate the annual export contribution for the State is estimated to be about $40 million and there will be sixty jobs at the mine when full production is reached.
Australia’s uranium reserves are the world’s largest with 38% of known low-cost recoverable uranium. Australian Bureau of Statistics (A.B.S.) figures show spending on uranium exploration in South Australia totalled $77 million in the 12 months ending September 2007, accounting for more than 50% of Australia’s total expenditure on uranium exploration.