Name and Location
Wiluna uranium project, Australia.

Client
Toro Energy.

Project Description
The Wiluna uranium project is situated 30 km south of Wiluna, in Western Australia.

The mine will produce about two-million tons of ore and about 1 200 t/y of uranium oxide over a 14-year life-of-mine. Ore will be sourced from the Centipede and Lake Way deposits, an estimated 550 km from Kalgoorlie.

Selective mining will occur within a series of shallow openpits, which will be progressively rehabilitated after the pits have been used as tailings impoundment facilities or for waste-rock disposal.

To support the project, Toro will establish accommodation for the workforce, a water-supply borefield, based on a local underground aquifer, and up to 12 MW of on-site gas-fired power generation.

Value
The total estimated capital cost of A$280-million has been downgraded to an estimated A$207-million.

Duration
The project is expected to start production in 2014/15.

Latest Developments
Toro has started community consultation ahead of the release of a request to extend its already approved Wiluna uranium project.

Toro has lodged a draft public environmental review (PER) with the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), which assesses, in detail, the impacts of the proposed extension of the Wiluna project through the development of the Millipede and Lake Maitlands deposits.

The extended Wiluna project will still be based on a central processing plant, as currently approved by the government, adjacent to the Centipede/Millipede deposits.

Based on mining at the four deposits, the Wiluna project is expected to have a mine life of 16 years, with average production of two-million pounds a year of uranium oxide (U₃O₈), for the first ten years of operation.

Total production over the life-of-mine will reach 30.2-million pounds of U₃O₈.

The company is in discussions with the local Aboriginal leaders to provide an update on the project and to discuss the possibilities of local employment.

Once the EPA approved the public release of the PER for mining at Millipede and Lake Maitland, the company will continue consultations with the wider community, including hosting project information days in Kalgoorlie, Leonora and Wiluna, during the 12-week PER public review phase.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Toro Energy, tel +618 8132 5600, fax +618 8362 6655 or email info@toroenergy.com.au.