Uranium Mining and Rehabilitation: International Aspects and Examples from Germany
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XA9745130 URANIUM MINING AND REHABILITATION: INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS AND EXAMPLES FROM GERMANY F.H. BARTHEL Bundesanstalt fur Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hannover D. MAGER Federal Ministry of Economics, Bonn Germany Abstract In the period from 1945 to 1994 about 1.87 million t U have been produced worldwide. The maximum of production reached about 70 000 t U in 1981, now the production has fallen to about 32 000 t U. Due to the decrease of the annual output, employment in uranium production has decreased, however the productivity has been increased in most countries. As any mining, uranium mining has an impact on the environment. Especially the radioactivity of the ores and waste material may create radiological hazards to the population when protection measures are not observed carefully. The impact of uranium production to the environmental is illustrated by various examples. The costs which are necessary to decommission and rehabilitate uranium production facilities can reach high levels depending on the specifics of the recultivation activities. International examples are given. The production of uranium in Eastern Germany is described briefly, and the reclamation activities of the former Wismut mining and milling facilities is illustrated by selected examples. 1. INTRODUCTION Uranium has been produced during the past 50 years for both military and civil uses. Part of this production, which was higher than the demand, was stockpiled for strategic reasons. After the fall of the iron curtain, most of the stockpile has been made available for commercial use. Thus, less uranium is now required from production and producers are being forced to reduce their output or close their mines. Production has fallen below demand since the mid-1980s. The closure of uranium mines and mills requires proper decommissioning and rehabilitation according to international radiation protection guidelines and standards and to national regulations. Aspects of past and present uranium production are described in this paper, followed by examples of decommissioning and rehabilitation projects. It is not intended to deal with specific methods or regulations in individual countries; however, the example from Germany may illustrate the extent of decommissioning and rehabilitation work necessary in densely populated areas of Central Europe. 2. PAST AND PRESENT URANIUM PRODUCTION World uranium production during the period from 1945 to 1994 is estimated to have been about 1 868 200 t U or about 4.7 billion pounds U3O8. At an arbitrarily chosen sales value of US$20/lb U3O8 this would amount to approximately $100 billion. It should be kept in mind however, that the uranium price in WOCA (World Outside Centrally Planned Economy Areas) countries was higher over extensive periods, meaning this value may represent the lower limit. A breakdown of the estimated production of the different producer countries from 1945 to 1994 is given in Table I. Production figures for WOCA countries (total 1 083 000 t U) are fairly well known through the regular questionnaires on uranium resources and production (Red Book). 123 TABLE I. RANKING OF URANIUM PRODUCING COUNTRIES (OVER 10 000 t U CUMULATIVE PRODUCTION 1945-1994) (Figures rounded to the nearest 100 t U) World WOCA NonWOCA Country tu % (har* Country tu % share Country tu % shore 1 USA 342,200 18.3 i USA 342,200 31.6 1 GDR** 216,300 27.5 2 Canada 274,300 14.7 2 Canada 274,300 25.5 2 Czech Rep. 104,100 13.3 3 GDR** 216,300 11.6 3 Rep.S.Africa 148,600 13.7 3 Russ.Fed. 103,000* 13.1* 4 Rep.S.Africa 148,600 8.0 4 France 71,300 6.6 4 Kazakhstan 86,000* 11.0* 5 Czech Rep. 104,100 5.6 5 Niger 62,600 5.6 5 PR China 79,000* 10.1* e Russ.Fed. 103,000* 5.5* 6 Australia 57,900 5.4 6 Uzbekistan 70,500* 9.0* 7 Kazakhstan 86,000* 4.6* 7 Namibia 56,700 5.2 7 Ukraine 46,800* 6.0* a PR China 79,000* 4.2* 8 Gabon 24,400 2.3 8 Bulgaria 23,100* 2.9* 9 France 71,300 3.8 9 Zaire 23,300 2.2 9 Tajikistan 20,000* 2.6* 10 Uzbekistan 70,500* 3.8* 10 others 21,700 2.0 10 Hungary 17,500 2.2 (14 countries) 11 Niger 62,600 3.4 11 Romania 17,100 2.2 12 Australia 57,900 3.1 12 others 1,800* 0,2* (2 countries) 13 Namibia 56,700 3.0 14 Ukraine 46,800* 2.5* 15 Gabon 24,400 1.3 16 Zaire 23,300 1.3 17 Bulgaria 23,100* 1.2* IS Tajikistan 20,000* 1.1* 19 Hungary 17,500 1.0 20 Romania 17,100 1.0 21 others 23,500 1.3 58% of world total 42% of world total (16 countries) total 1,868,200 total 1,083,000 total 785,200* * estimated production; ** production 1945 - 1990 1994 production is estimated BGR,March 1995 TABLE II. RANKING OF URANIUM PRODUCING COUNTRIES IN 1993 Country tu % share cumulative 1 Canada 9,178 28.4 28.4 2 Niger 2,gi4 9.0 37.4 3 Russ.Fed. 2,600* 8.0* 45.4 4 Uzbekistan 2,600* 8.0* 53.4 5 Australia 2,256 7.0 60.4 6 Kazakhstan 2,110 6.5 66.9 7 France 1,734 5.4 72.3 8 Rep.S.Africa 1,703 5.3 77.6 g Namibia 1,668 5.2 82.8 10 USA 1,178 3.6 86.4 11 PR China 1,000* 3.1* 89.5 12 Czech Rep. 950 2.9 92.4 13 Gabon 556 1.7 94.1 14 Ukraine 500* 1.6* 95.7 15 Hungary 380 2.2 96.9 16 Spain 183 <1.0 17 India 180* <1.0* 18 Argentina 121 <1.0 19 Romania 120* <1.0* 20 Germany 116 <1.0 21 Mongolia 100* <1.0* 22 Bulgaria 60* <1.0* 23 Belgium 34 <1.0 24 Portugal 32 <1.0 25 Brazil 30* <1.0* 26 Pakistan 30* <1.0* total 32,333 estimated BGR.March 1995 TABLE III. MAJOR URANIUM PRODUCING COMPANIES 1993 Production 1993 % - share Company tu of production 1 CAMECO.Canada 5100 15.8 2 COGEMA.France 4200 13.0 (production in France, Canada.USA Niger.Gabon) 3 Uranen.Germany 2670 8.3 (production m Canada,USA) 4 Priargunsky (Russ.Fed.) 2600* 8.0 5 Navoi,Uzbekistan 2600* 8.0 6 KATE P. Kazakhstan 2110 7 Rossing,Namibia 1670 5.2 8 NUFCOR,Rep.S.-Africa 1660 5.1 9 ERA,Australia 1130 3.5 10 WMC.Australia 1120 3.5 24860 76.9 World total 32330 100.0 * estimated BGR.March 1995 125 Official production data for the non-WOCA area have been provided by only four countries. Production could only be estimated for the remaining 13 countries, mainly CIS and PR China as major producers. Total non-WOCA production was estimated to be about 785 200 t U. Production for 1993 of about 32,300 t U (see Table II) was less than half of the estimated peak production in 1981. At an average price of $20/lb U3O8 the 1993 production represents a sales value of approximately $1.7 billion. As shown in Table II, ten major producing countries account for nearly 90% of the production. The leading producer country is Canada, with a share of 28%. The four producers of the CIS have a share of 25 %. For some countries, e.g. Niger, sales revenue from exported uranium is a major source of income. In 1989 the value of exported uranium from African countries, excluding the Republic of South Africa, amounted to $530 million or about 7% of the value of all exported minerals. Most producing countries are major uranium consumers. Other main producers, e.g. Australia, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Niger and Uzbekistan, have no domestic demand, and their entire production is exported. The share of uranium production by company is shown in Table III. Ten companies accounted for more than three fourths of the 1993 production. The share of the top four producers was almost 50%. Estimated production from companies of the CIS amounted to 23%. 3. EMPLOYMENT IN THE URANIUM PRODUCTION INDUSTRY The number of persons employed varies from country to country, depending on the number and size of the individual uranium operations. A world-wide survey of employment in uranium mines and processing plants for the past is not yet available. In some countries, however, it was very high. Figures from 15 selected countries show that employment decreased continuously over the past 15 years. In 1985, for example, about 85 000 persons were employed in these countries, in 1990 only 55 000 and in 1993 about 20 000 persons. The downward trend can best be illustrated by comparing employment and production in two of the major producing countries, USA and Canada, as shown in the following compilation. 1980 1985 1990 1993 USA Production (t U) 16 800 4 300 3 420 1180 Employment 20 000 2 450 1 350 700 t U per man-year 0.84 1.76 2.53 1.69 CANADA Production (t U) 7 150 10 880 8 730 9 180 Employment 6 100 5 300 2 500 1 300 t U per man-year 1.17 2.05 3.49 7.06 For comparison, employment by the Wismut company amounted to about 40 000 persons during the 1980s, now (1994), 4 600 persons are employed in the decommissioning activities. 126 Efficiency in uranium production in the USA and in Canada has increased remarkably, from around 1 t U per man-year in 1980 to 1.7 and 7 t U per man-year, respectively, in 1993.