A NUCLEAR OPTION
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
SUPPLY CHAIN & OPERATIONS
26
“ We have a 44-year-old plant , so we ’ re looking at new technologies to address leaching efficiency and improve extraction and recovery processes . We ’ re thrilled about the appetite for a new life of mine extension ”
— Liezl Davies , General Manager , Operations , Rössing Uranium
Mining is done by blasting , loading and hauling from the open pit before the uranium-bearing rock is processed to produce uranium oxide .
A NUCLEAR OPTION
A depressed global uranium market might have been a challenge for Rio Tinto but it presented a golden opportunity for China ’ s CNUC ( China National Uranium Corporation ) taking over in Namibia as the 68.62 % majority shareholder at Rössing Uranium in July
2019 . Liezl Davies , General Manager : Operations , explains that the move by CNUC represented a new lease of life for the mine which was facing the threat of early closure . “ Since CNUC took over as the majority shareholder , we are now part of a vertically integrated nuclear business because its parent company , CNNC ( China National Nuclear Corporation ), is a major supplier of nuclear power in China . Now we need to consider plant readiness for possible mine life extension . The past two years there was a lack of capital investment in the operation and since we now have a new lease of life , we need to catch up on this backlog and get ourselves set up for the future to survive this depressed uranium market .”
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
After two years of uncertainty during the build-up to CNNC ’ s takeover , Davies and her team are now busy planning a way forward at Rössing to innovate
AUGUST 2020