Jordan's uranium prospects promising

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) After less than a year of exploration, the Jordanian-French Uranium Mining Company (JFUMC) is reporting promising results for the potential location of the Kingdom's first uranium mine, company officials said on Tuesday.

Over the last nine months, drilling and geological mapping carried out by the firm, a joint venture between French mining company AREVA and Jordan Energy Resources Inc., has revealed large amounts of high-grade uranium close to surface levels.

Operating within a 1,469-square-kilometre concession area, the JFUMC has focused on a 100-square-kilometre fertile zone in Swaqa as well as the Khan Azzabib, Wadi Maghar and Attarat areas.

Working 24 hours a day in 12-hour shifts, 46 Jordanians and nine French nationals have dug 29 trenches to accelerate the uranium mine development process, which often takes up to 15 years, to clear the way for mining activities as early as 2012, according to JFUMC General Manager Gilles Recoche.

With 14 kilometres worth of material logged and analyzed, results have been "exciting", he said, with the Jordanian-French firm confident that they will meet the requirements of the bankable feasibility study to encourage investors to support the mine.

Approximately 9,680 drilling samples have been taken and analyzed at JAEC labs to determine the amount and quality of uranium found in the area, he added.

Within the fertile zone, uranium is found near the surface level at an average grade of 400 parts per million, or grammes of uranium per tonne, results have shown. Lower-grade uranium at various concentrations is found at depths as low as 90 metres below ground, according to the company, another positive indicator for future drilling.

"We do not know anywhere else in the world where uranium is found at such shallow depths," Recoche said during a field visit organized for the Lower House Energy Committee and journalists.

With uranium present at various levels and mineralization open at depth, the maps of the area represent a "unique prospective geological model", which can be used not only in the Kingdom, but in uranium mining across the region and North Africa, he added.

"This project is important to AREVA and we recognize its importance to the country of Jordan," he told The Jordan Times, noting that the central Jordan project has the highest exploration budget of all AREVA activities in 32 countries, accounting for some 15 per cent of the French firm's exploration funds.

During the visit, Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Chairman Khaled Toukan underlined the importance of uranium resources for the Kingdom's peaceful nuclear programme, a "national project" to overcome energy and water scarcity.

If the bankable feasibility study is approved, JFUMC will proceed with establishing an open-pit mine. Once established, milling, crushing, extraction, precipitation and converting of uranium ore will all take place within the Kingdom, according to the firm.

In the next year, the company will carry out a hydrological study in cooperation with the JAEC to determine ways to convey water for mining activities, with a focus on underground water sources within the central region.

Recoche added that the firm is looking to partner with local universities to provide students with training and internships to better prepare future Jordanian cadres for the Kingdom's uranium mining sector.

Meanwhile, talks are ongoing with British-Australian mining firm Rio Tinto and the Chinese Sino Uranium to establish similar joint ventures, Toukan told The Jordan Times. Under the agreements, Rio Tinto would proceed with exploration in the southeast region, mainly Wadi Sahra Abayad, while Sino Uranium would continue activities in the Eastern Desert in areas such as Wadi Bahiya, Mafraq and Rweished.

Jordan is home to some 130,000 tonnes of uranium, most of which is found within 1.5 metres of surface level and suitable for extraction.

The resource is vital to the Kingdom's nuclear energy programme, which is expected to provide up to 30 per cent of Jordan's electricity by 2025 and help the country achieve energy independence.

The country's first nuclear power plant, a 1,000-megawatt generation III reactor, is expected to be built in a location in Aqaba, some 20 kilometres inland from the port city.

By Taylor Luck