Frederic Guerin General Manager, Mine Projects AREVA Resources Canada Inc. Iqaluit April 19, 2012 The Kiggavik Project: Challenges in designing uranium development in Nunavut
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, AREVA Mines Uranium and Gold GOLD URANIUM Exploration, Project Development, Mining, Milling and Decommissioning Diversification Strategy Operating mines in Canada, Niger and Kazakhstan, Second largest uranium mining producer in the world with 9,142 tU in 2011 La Mancha (LMA-TSX) 3 operating mines (Ivory Coast, Soudan, Australia)
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, AREVA Resources Canada Saskatchewan Athabasca Basin AREVA operations McClean Lake Cluff Lake - decommissioned AREVA’s minority interests McArthur River (30%) / Key Lake Cigar Lake (37%) AREVA’s projects Midwest, McClean & Caribou Shea Creek Exploration program Nunavut AREVA’s projects Kiggavik Project (JV AREVA, JCU, Daewoo) Strong exploration program
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Kiggavik Project Resource 51,000 tU (133 U 3 O 8 4 open pits 1 underground mine 1 mill & associated facilities Project Proposal 2008 Draft EIS Dec Construction 2017 Andrew Lake and End Grid deposits Main, Centre and East deposits
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Kiggavik Main Zone Geology Permafrost 220m m/s < K < m/s
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Kiggavik Project - Key Numbers 25 barges/year Mill feed 3,000 t ore/day Production 3,500 tU/year 3,000 loads/year 600 employees Capex $2.1 billion Opex $240M/yr 6 flights/week Mining rate 80,000 t /day
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Saskatchewan Deposits Key Technical Challenges Radiation protection due to high grade uranium ores (locally > 20% U 3 O 8 ) Control of groundwater (potential for 1,500 m 3 /hr) Ground support in areas of weak rock These challenges often occur concurrently in the immediate area of massive mineralizatiom requiring innovative ground support and mining methods Ground freezing (mass freezing, frozen walls) Non-entry mining methods (surface access borehole mining, jet boring system, raisebore mining, roadheader, remote control)
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Ground freezing examples 1.5 km Caribou Mine Project McClean North Project
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Jet Boring Systems 1.5 km Surface access borehole mining with jet boring Cigar Lake Project From surface Underground Orebody
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Kiggavik Project Saskatchewan challenges are less pronounced Medium uranium ore grade conditions (vs high grade in SK) allowing the use of traditional mining methods combined with robust radiation protection measures Low permeability bedrock and permafrost conditions reducing groundwater control requirements Reasonable geotechnical conditions allowing traditional ground support and mining methods Kiggavik specific challenges Lack of infrastructure (power, road access) Lack of surface water requiring optimization of the mill process to reduce water consumption and release of treated effluent Water and tailings management requirements (in-pit disposal) interacting with mine planning
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Tailings Management - Design Principles To avoid interaction between tailings and natural water bodies To maximize the use of mine workings for long-term management of tailings To ensure the long-term protection of Kiggavik’s terrestrial, aquatic and human environment Potential for future deposits to be considered Stability, integrity and geochemical performance should not rely on maintaining present temperatures and permafrost conditions
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Mine planning 1.5 km Mine plan to account for water and tailings management requirements Water reservoir Pits converted into Tailings Management Facilities
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Example - Centre Zone Ore824 kt Grade0.476 %U Metal3,925 tU Whittle Shell Designed Pit 6.8 Mbcm Depth 110m 2.2 Mbcm Optimum pit is determined then expanded for tailings management purposes
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Proposed Kiggavik Site 1.5 km
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Decommissioning – Centre Zone
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Decommissioning – Main Zone
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Permafrost vs Climate Warming Complete melting of permafrost is conservatively assumed to assess long term performance
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Kiggavik A Long-term Perspective A Large Potential Solid baseline (approximately % U 3 O 8 ) Area is under-explored - numerous targets “Clean ore” easy to process Challenges Capital and operating expenditures Logistics and operating conditions Public perception Complex regulatory regime Water management, tailings management & mine planning
NMS, Iqaluit – April 19, Conditions for continued success Market conditions Regulatory approvals and social licence To demonstrate that the Kiggavik Project can be operated in an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable manner Continued public acceptance AREVA’s track record Uranium in general
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