Name and Location
Four Mile uranium project, Australia.

Client
The project is a joint venture between Quasar Resources (75%), an affiliate of Heathgate Resources, and Alliance Resources (25%).

Project Description
The Four Mile project can potentially  become the highest-grade and largest operating in situ recovery (ISR) mine in the world. The project is located 550 km north of Adelaide, in South Australia. The sandstone-hosted deposit is defined by two mineralised zones within tertiary sediments – Four Mile East and Four Mile West – which occur within laterally extensive sands 140 m to 210 m deep.

Envisaged as an on-site recovery-style mining operation, with uranium to be captured at Heathgate Resources’ Pannikan satellite plant and elution, precipitation, drying and packing to take place at Heathgate’s Beverley processing plant.

The project is estimated to host a total mineral resource of 9.8-million tonnes, grading 0.44% uranium oxide (U₃O₈) for 71-million pounds of U₃O₈.

The project is expected to produce about 2.12-million pounds of U₃O₈.

Value
A$97.8-million.

To date, some A$120-million has been invested in the project.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill officially opened the Four Mile uranium mine on June 26. The mine started commissioning in March this year.

An estimated 1.6-million pounds of U₃O₈ would be produced during 2014.

The initial stage of mining operations will collect information and assess mining conditions of the Four Mile East section of the deposit, while the joint venturers make use of existing capabilities and minimise environmental disturbance by processing the resource at the nearby Beverley facilities.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Heathgate Resources (feasibility study); and Adelaide Control Engineering (final optimisation study).

On Budget and on Time?
The project has been delayed, owing to legal disputes between Alliance, Quasar and Heathgate.

Contact Details for Project Information
Alliance Resources, tel +61 3 9697 9090, fax +61 3 9697 9091 or email info@allianceresources.com.au.
Quasar Resources, tel +61 8 8110 0500, fax +61 8 8212 5559 or email info@quasarresources.com.au.