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Marenica Energy metallurgical testwork to lower operating costs at uranium project in Namibia

Published: 17:40 08 Jul 2013 AEST

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Marenica Energy (ASX: MEY) has delivered some positive metallurgical results from the company's Marenica uranium project in Namibia, which could see operating costs, reduced from US$49 to less than US$42 per pound of uranium.

Providing a reduction in the OPEX costs of the project, testwork has produced similar beneficiation results from sea water and desalination plant water.

The financial impact from the technology could be project defining, and has the potential to materially reduce the operating costs.

The results came from Marenica ore using the U-pgrade process with an upgrade of >60 times producing a leach feed grade of >5,500ppm U3O8 from an ore grade of 94ppm U3O8.

Marenica said that the U-pgrade process very effectively reduces the mass of material that needs to be leached.


Commercial opportunity

Another outcome from the testwork is the potential commercialisation of U-pgrade to other uranium projects around the world.

Testwork is scheduled on Areva’s Trekkopje Uranium Project ore and Deep Yellow (ASX: DYL)
surficial uranium ores from Australia and Namibia.

 

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