Recent Developments in Uranium Resources and Supply Was Held in Vienna from 24 to 26 May 1993
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IAEA-TECDOC-823 Recent developmentsin uranium resources and supply Proceedings of a Technical Committee meeting held Vienna,in 24-28 1993May INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY /A\ IAEe Th A doe t normallsno y maintain stock f reportso thin si s series. However, microfiche copie f thesso e reportobtainee b n sca d from INIS Clearinghouse International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramerstrasse5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria Orders should be accompanied by prepayment of Austrian Schillings 100,- for forchequa the m the IAEm of in of in eAor microfiche service coupons which may be ordered separately from the INIS Clearinghouse. The originating Section of this publication in the IAEA was: Nuclear Material Fued san l Cycle Technology Section International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramerstrasse5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN URANIUM RESOUCES AND SUPPLY IAEA, VIENNA, 1995 IAEA-TECDOC-823 ISSN 1011-4289 © IAEA, 1995 Printed by the IAEA in Austria September 1995 FOREWORD While the IAEA's projections of the growth of nuclear power remain a modest 1.5% per year through 2010, uranium continues to be an important source of energy. In January 1993 there were nuclea4 42 r power plant operation si n wit hcombinea d electricity generating capacit G(e)1 33 f .yo In 1992 these plants generated over 2027 TW.h electricity, equivalent to nearly 17% of the total. To achieve this, 57 200 tonnes uranium were required as nuclear fuel. Historically, nuclear fuel activities were primarily segregate mutuallo tw n di y exclusive areas consisting of WOCA (world outside centrally planned economy areas) and non-WOCA. Throughout most of the 1980s the WOCA uranium market experienced declining prices because of a very large excess uranium inventory resulting from over-productio earlien ni r years. Sinc relaxatioe eth f no tensions between WOC non-WOCd Aan late eth An 1980si worldwid,a e marke nuclean ti r goodd san service bees sha n developing. Emergenc thif eo s world market placed additional uraniu e stresth n so m supply and demand balance as the previously unavailable non-WOCA supply entered the market. This material came from both current productio existine th d ngan inventory. In recent years substantial uncertainties regarding uranium supply have mad vert ei y difficult for both uranium producer user d futuree san th pla o st r 199n I n.fo 2 uranium productio t onlnme y about 63 percent of reactor requirements. This resulted in a very unstable supply/demand balance where inventory drawdown (supplemented by minor amounts of reprocessing) filled the 20 960 tonne shortfall. The IAEA convened this Technical Committee meeting to take advantage of the new opportunities to collect and analyse information related to the future supply and demand balance and to help reduce uncertainties regarding the relationship. The meeting was effective in bringing together experts from all regions to share, exchange and disseminate information regarding uranium related activities. The Technical Committee Meeting on Recent Developments in Uranium Resources and Supply was held in Vienna from 24 to 26 May 1993. It was attended by 47 participants from 23 countries. Twenty-one papers were presented. Contributions from China Czece th , h Republic, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Romani Russiae th d aan n Federation represen informatiow tne thin ni s field. The IAEA is grateful to those participants who contributed papers and took part in discussions. Thanks are also extended to: F. Barthel (Germany), M. Giroux (France), M. Matolin (Czech Republic) . RuzickV , a (Canada) . SimoS d van , (Bulgaria) sessioe th , n chairmen. IAEe Th A staff member responsibl organizatioe th r efo implementatiod nan meetine th f no g was D.H. Underbill, Divisio Nucleaf no r Fuel Cycl Wastd ean e Management. papere Th s presente A.Ay db . Abakumov . Bejenar . C Cioloboc, D d an u . BunuF , d an s I. Miu, K.K. Dwivedy, J. Hrâdek, D. Kelter and F. Barthel, I.L. Loutchinin, Z. Logar et al., M. Matolin, Y.B. Mironov et al., G.R. Parslow and R. Karma, G.P. Poluarshinov and V.M. Pigulski, V. Ruzicka have been published in the Chinese language in 1994 in Beijing (Overseas Uraniu Gold man d Geology Editorial Committee Eds), Atomic Energy Publishing House, Volume 11, No. 1, Mar. 1994. EDITORIAL NOTE In preparing this publication press,for staff IAEAofthe have pages madethe up from the original manuscripts submittedas authors.the viewsby The expressed necessarilynot do reflect those of the governments of the nominating Member States or of the nominating organizations. Throughout the text names of Member States are retained as they were when the text was compiled. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention namesof specificof companies productsor (whether indicatednot or as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the pan of the IAEA. The authors are responsible for having obtained the necessary permission for the IAEA to reproduce, translate materialuse or from sources already protected copyrights.by CONTENTS Summary of the meeting ........................................... 7 Concepts, recognition criteri deposid aan t modelling applie uraniun di m exploration of Bulgaria .................................................9 . S.D. Simov Model Canadiar sfo n unconformity deposits importann A : t componen metallogenin i t c studies, exploration and mineral resourc appraisals ......................... 21 V. Ruzicka Economic potential of black shale: The Bakken Formation in Saskatchewan ........... 39 G.R. Parslow, KarmaR. Som uraniuw ene m exploration area Chinn si a ............................9 6 . F. Shen Developmen uraniuf o t m heap leachin Chinn gi a ...........................5 7 . R. Zhang Uranium deposits of the Czech Republic ................................. 81 HradekJ. Progres gammn si radod aan n detection method geophysican si l investigation .........1 9 . MatotinM. Strategy and perspective for uranium exploration in Egypt ...................... 97 M.A. Hassan, A.B. Salman, H.S. Assaf,MahdyMM. Ore reserve estimate, the need of reconciliation to improve the evaluation: A case study, the Taza deposit ............................................... 109 J.R. Biaise, DémangeC. Uranium resources assessment and the market ............................. 125 M. Giroux, CapusG. The three-dimensional reserve/resource classification system — A proposal of uranium .................................................3 13 . Kelter,D. BarthelF. Possibility of new uranium discoveries in the environs of Domiasiat, Meghalaya, India .............................................. 145 K.K. Dwivedy Uraniu materiaw mra Republile basth f eo Kazakhstaf co n .....................3 16 . A.A. Abakumov uraniue Th m resource Mongolif so a ...................................7 17 . Y.B. Mironov, S.S. Naumov, G. Jamsrandorj, O. Chuluun Uranium exploratio productiod nan Romanian i : Case historie prospectd san s ........3 19 . C. Bejenam, D. Cioloboc Uranium recovery from phosphate Romanin si a ............................7 20 . Bunus,F. Miu I Application of mineralogical-technological mapping for ores: Qualitative evaluation of endogenic uranium deposit Streltsovsf so Kokchetavsd kan k uraniu regione mor s ......3 21 . A.V. Boitsov, G.I. Birka, A.L. Nicolsky, A.S. Shulgin Geological models of uranium deposits applied to prognostication, classification and evaluation of resources ........................................... 225 A.A. Derjagin Valley-type uranium deposits in Russia .................................. 235 I.L. Loutchinin Geological prospecting experience resultin discovern gi workablf yo e uranium deposits of various genetic type Nortn si h Kazakhsta province nor e ...................3 24 . G.P. Poluarshinov, V.M. Pigulski e .....................................ZirovskStatue th Mm f h so Vr i 7 25 . Z. Logar, B. Likar, T. Budkoviä APPENDIX: The Roznâ Mine and Uranium Production Facilities ................ 261 A. Hâjek List of Participants ............................................... 263 SUMMARY OF THE MEETING The Technical Committee Meeting on Recent Developments in Uranium Resources and Supply was held in Vienna from 24 to 26 May 1993. It was attended by 47 participants from 23 countries and two international organizations (OECD and Uranium Institute). Twenty-one technical papers covering uranium resource and supply activities in 17 countries were presented. sit y meetine eRoznda e Th visifolloweo th s o tw gt awa a uraniu y db m production facilities in the Czech Republic. Rozna is the site of one of the largest conventional uranium mines operating in central Europe. The site visit of 25 participants from 14 countries, was hosted by Diamo, the state enterprise responsibl uraniur efo m productio Czece th n nhi Republic descriptioA . Rozne th f no a projec Appendigives e i t th n i thif xo s publication. paperMane th f yo s presente t thida s meeting reflec massive th t e reductio realignmend nan t of all uranium related activities resulting from the development of a worldwide uranium market undergoing recovery from over-production. The 13 year decline of the Nuexco Exchange Value (NEV) or spot uranium price, reaching an all time low annual average in 1992 of $20.67/kg U ($7.95/poun