The Federal Government has given an environmental approval for Cameco Australia Pty Ltd’s Yeelirrie Uranium Project, in the remote Northern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
Cameco plans to mine uranium ore from the Yeelirrie deposit, positioned approximately 70 kilometres south-west of Wiluna, and construct associated mine infrastructure including ore processing facilities, water abstraction and reinjection infrastructure, roads, accommodation, offices and workshops, stockpile and laydown areas.
The Yeelirrie uranium deposit was originally discovered by Western Mining Corporation in 1972 and was acquired by Cameco from BHP Billiton in 2012.
The Yeelirrie Uranium Project has an operational life of 22 years, which includes three years of pre-production construction, dewatering and mining, 15 years of processing and four years of decommissioning and rehabilitation.
Over its 15-year processing period, the project is expected to produce up to 7,500 tonnes (averaging 3,850 tonnes) per year of uranium oxide concentrate.
Plans indicate that the project would be progressively rehabilitated as mining occurs.
The uranium concentrate, commonly known as yellowcake, would then be transported by road from the mine site to the Port of Adelaide in South Australia for export.
The uranium concentrate would be used to generate clean electricity in nuclear power plants around the world.
It is estimated that the Yeelirrie Uranium Project would employ up to 1200 people during the peak construction phase and an average of 225 people during operations. Cameco Australia maintains that priority would be given to training and hiring local people.
Environmental approval by the Federal Government follows the Western Australian Government’s decision to approve the project in January 2017. Both the state and federal approvals include comprehensive conditions to ensure that people and the environment remain protected and the project is responsibly managed.
Simon Williamson, General Manager of Cameco Australia has welcomed the decision.
“This has been a rigorous and extensive environmental assessment process, and we have worked with the Australian Federal Department of Environment and Energy over the two-year process to demonstrate how we will reduce and manage any environmental risks.”
However, any decisions to advance Cameco Australia’s projects in Western Australia will depend upon market conditions.
“While we are happy to have this approval in place, current market conditions are challenging, and we expect them to remain so in the near term,” added Mr Williamson.