Dornod-Uran
From Mongol Studies Online Reference
Dornod-Uran is a uranium deposit in Mongolia's eastern Dornod province. It was originally explored by the Soviet Union in the 1950's along with the Mardain Gol deposit. Dornod-Uran is estimated to contain 20,000 metric tons of probable reserves at a grade of .11% usable uranium.[1] However, Russian geologists have recently estimated that this figure could be doubled if further exploration on the site was conducted.[2] On August 25, 2009 Russian and Mongolian officials announced that they would conduct a joint venture between state-owned Rosatom and Monatom to develop Dornod-Uran. The president of Russia's state nuclear energy company Sergei Kiriyenko predicted Russian investment in the site would reach "hundreds of millions of dollars."[3]
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[edit] Location
Dornod-Uran is located 125 km north of the nearest significant population center of Choibalsan, 650 km west of Ulaanbaatar and 14km from the former mining town of Mardai. Google Map Layout of the Site
[edit] Ownership
As of September 2009, the ownership of the Dornod-Uran site is currently under question. Officially, the Canadian company Khan Resources Ltd. owns 58% of the project, with 21% belonging to the Russian based Priargunskiy Mining and Chemical Enterprise and another 21% belonging to the Mongolian state owned Mongol Erdene Holding Company.[4] However, the latest agreement between Russia and Mongolia potentially nullifies this arrangement, with Mongolian and Russian state owned companies pledging to jointly develop the mine with no mention of Khan Resources' license.[5] Moreover, one month before the agreement on July 25, 2009 Khan Resources Ltd. learned their license had been suspended by the Mongolian government for 3 months following an alleged violation of Mongolian laws.[6]
[edit] Cost
Khan Resources released a feasibility study on the Dornod-Uran deposit in 2007. According to the study, assuming uranium price of US$55 per lb U3O8, and a mining rate of 3,500 tonnes per day over a 15.5 year mine life, will result in an average annual production rate of 2.9 million lbs U3O8 [1115 t U]. The operational cost per ton of ore would be US$49.21. The initial capital cost of the project is projected to be approximately US$283 million.[7]
[edit] External Links
- Technical Report from 2007 Prepared by Khan Resources
- Presentation by Khan Resources on Dornod Project
[edit] References
- ↑ "Mongolia." Uranium in Central Asia. World Nuclear Association. Retrieved on 10 Aug. 2009.
- ↑ "Dornod Uran" New Uranium Mining Projects. WISE Uranium Project. Retrieved on 28 July 2009.
- ↑ "Russia Regains Foothold in Mongolia's Uranium Mines." Reuters.com. Reuters, 25 Aug. 2009. Retrieved on 27.Aug.2009.
- ↑ "Dornod Uran" New Uranium Mining Projects. WISE Uranium Project. Retrieved on 28 July 2009.
- ↑ "Russia Regains Foothold in Mongolia's Uranium Mines." Reuters.com. Reuters, 25 Aug. 2009. Retrieved on 27.Aug.2009.
- ↑ "Nuclear Gazumping in Mongolia." Your Nuclear News. Retrieved on 26 Aug. 2009.
- ↑ Presentation by Khan Resources on Dornod Project
