In situ leach uranium mining. Proceedings of a technical committee meeting. Working material

At the beginning of 1996 there were 437 nuclear power plants in operation with a combined electricity generating capacity of 344 GWe (net gigawatts electric). This represents nearly a 100% increase over the last decade. In 1995 over 2228 TWh (terawatt hours) electricity were generated, equivalent to about 17% of the world's total electricity. To achieve this, about 61 400 tonnes U were required as nuclear fuel. The 15 year decline of the spot uranium price, as indicated by Nuexco Exchange Value (NEV) and other indices, which reached an all time low annual average in 1994 of $18.33/kg U ($7.05/pound U3O8), has had a profound impact on uranium related activities. This led to the massive reduction and realignment of all uranium related activities as the worldwide uranium market adjusted from over-production. Because of the economic advantages of properly run in situ leach technology on carefully selected uranium orebodies, relatively more ISL mining facilities have been kept in operation than conventional mining operations. In 1995 world uranium production of about 34 000 t uranium met only about 55% of world requirements. An estimated 16% of production came from ISL mining. In 1996 ISL mining was estimated to have produced over 5600 tU, or over 15% of estimated world production of 36 400 tU. The importance of ISL mining is expected to increase, as the technology has economic and environmental advantages for producing uranium from carefully selected deposits when projects are properly designed and operated by experienced personnel. Several countries host sandstone type uranium deposits, the only type where commercial ISL projects have been developed. ISL uranium mining technology was developed independently in the USA and the former Soviet Union and associated non-WOCA (world outside centrally planned economic areas) countries starting in the 1960s and 1970s. Since the opening of relations between the two areas in the early 1990s there has been a high level of mutual interest between specialists who developed and employ the technology in the two areas. The Technical Committee Meeting on In Situ Leach Uranium Mining was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan in the Hall of Science of the National Academy of Science from 9-12 September 1996. It was attended by 61 participants from 15 countries and one non-governmental international organization (Uranium Institute). Organizational support for the meeting was provided on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan by the National Joint Stock Company of Atomic Energy and Industry 'KATEP', the state enterprise responsible for uranium production in the Republic of Kazakhstan. This meeting provided the first ever opportunity for specialists from throughout the world to meet in central Asia and discuss ISL technology with emphasis on its development and use in the region. The site visit to the Number 6 Mining Company in south central Kazakhstan provided an opportunity for participants to observe and discuss an operating ISL facility