New WA government triggers uranium plans
September 15th, 2008 | by mantrionline |Uranium exploration has already picked up in Western Australia as junior miners are encouraged by the incoming Liberal government’s pro uranium stance.
The former Labor government, which had been headed Alan Carpenter, had a fiercely anti-uranium stance and had proposed a ban on mining the commodity. This had prompted concerns about the state’s sovereign risk profile.
Junior explorer Aurora Minerals Ltd estimates that WA holds 180,000 tonnes of known uranium resources, worth about $50 billion based on a yellowcake price of about $US100 a pound.
The company said an extra 400,000 to 500,000 tonnes of uranium, worth $138 billion, could be discovered if there is a surge in uranium exploration in WA.
Junior explorer Crossland Uranium Mines Ltd on Monday said it and Canadian Pancontinental Uranium Corporation would intensify exploration at their joint venture Crossland Creek prospect in the state’s far north.
Canada’s Mega Uranium has decided to accelerate the development of its Lake Maitland project near Wiluna in the state’s mid west after last month warning it was considering leaving the state to focus on regions that allowed uranium mining.
Junior explorer Toro Energy Ltd on Monday said it would begin planning work for its Lake Way/Centipede project, also in the mid-west.
Association of Mining and Exploration Companies chief executive Justin Walawski said the most advanced uranium projects in WA were Lake Maitland, Lake Way/Centipede and Energy & Minerals Australia’s Mulga Rock.
Mr Walawski said it would take four to five years to develop a new uranium mine, depending on whether the new government addresses delays in approval processes.
Mega Uranium vice-president of project development Peter McNally and Energy and Minerals Australia managing director Chris Davis said they hoped they could get their WA projects into production in three years.
Mr McNally said new uranium mine proposals would be subject to “very, very rigorous review processes”, so there was “a long way to go yet”.
He said Lake Maitland had a potential in-ground value between $1 billion and $3 billion, depending on the uranium price.
The company had so far spent about $20 million exploring the project, which was expected to cost up to $150 million to develop.
“The community now gets the opportunity to get all the information and evaluate it,” Mr McNally said.
“Also, for the Aboriginal people that have been involved in the project to this point, there are great opportunities for them to be engaged.”
Mr Walawski said WA’s international reputation as a business destination had suffered from Mr Carpenter’s proposal but there was renewed optimism following the change in political power as the Nationals on Sunday said they would support a minority Liberal Party government.
The renewed enthusiasm for yellowcake flowed through to uranium stocks, with Toro shares up 14.44 per cent to 51.5 cents at 1417 AEST and shares in Energy and Minerals Australia gaining 34.88 per cent to 29 cents.
Mr Walawski said the sector would be watching keenly to see if the new government would follow up on promises to streamline the approvals process, appoint a dedicated resources minister and introduce a scheme to attract mineral exploration to WA.
He said WA could copy schemes in South Australia, Queensland and Northern Territory, which provide tax breaks for exploration.
Uranium companies could accelerate the development of projects because drill rigs were no longer in desperately short supply as they had been until recently, Mr Walawski said.
Also, labour had been freed up with the recent closure of some of the state’s gold and zinc mines.
