JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed engineering and project management company Ausenco Minerals has signed a contract with uranium producer Uranium One Australia for the engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) service, for the Honeymoon uranium project, in South Australia.

The contract award followed the completion of the initial feasibility study, technical reviews, and engineering programme completed earlier this year.

“The contract award follows the conversion of initial front-end engineering and design work into a very strategic EPCM contract for Ausenco in one of, potentially, the future’s largest energy sources, uranium. Our scope is to engineer and construct the uranium processing plant to produce uranium to a uranium oxide state,” said Ausenco CEO Zimi Meka.

In May this year, Uranium One announced that it would suspend development at the Honeymoon project, to investigate ‘strategic alternatives’. However, Tokyo-based Mitsui & Co bought a 49% interest in six of Uranium One’s uranium deposits, including the Honeymoon project.

Uranium One had said in January that it expected to start commercial production at Honeymoon before the end of this year, after receiving approval from the South Australian government.


However, Mitsui said in October that commercial production is expected to begin in 2010.



The mine would produce some 400 t/y of uranium oxide, over six years.

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