Major world nuclear group Areva is thinking of constructing a uranium processing plant in South Africa. “This is a project which is being discussed within Areva,” reveals Areva South African chairperson Mohamed Madhi. 
“We are still in the investigation stage. 
“Certain technical and commercial issues need to be overcome before we start the pre-feasibility study. 
“If these issues are settled soon, we expect that the prefeasibility could be finished by the end of this year.”

If built, the plant would pro-
cess uranium from across Southern Africa. “We are explo-
ring vigorously for new uranium opportunities in South Africa and we are negotiating with 
existing South African uranium- 
miners for partnerships,” he highlights. 
“We are busy with a major project in Namibia, which is going 
according to plan. We are now one of the biggest foreign investors in Namibia.”

Areva’s South African explo-
ration programme, being under-
taken by subsidiary company 
A-Lukisa, is focused on the Beaufort West district, in the Karoo.

In Namibia, Areva is developing the €532-million Trekkopje mine in the Erongo region, some 40 km from the coast. It will be an opencast operation exploiting a shallow, low-grade but high-tonnage deposit, which will process the uranium ore using an alkaline heap-leaching process. This will be the first time that this process 
is used for uranium on such a large scale.

As the heap-leaching pro-
cess will require 17-million cubic metres of water a year, Areva is building a large desalination plant on the coast, at Wlotzkasbaken, north of Swakopmund. The 
intake pipes will have an annual 
capacity of 45-million cubic 
metres. 
The company hopes to start production at Trekkopje in 2011 or 2012, with production forecast at 3 000 t/y and a life-of-mine 
estimated at 12 years.

“For us, security of supply is 
essential. We try to ensure a 
diversity of sources of supply,” 
explains Madhi. 
“We are the only company in the world that guarantees uranium 
supply to our clients, and we have never defaulted.”

Currently, Areva has two 
operational mines in Niger, in the Arlit region in the north-east of that country, at the towns of Arlit and Akokan (which have actually 
sprung up around the mines), some 1 200 km from the capital city of Niamey. 
Each mine is operated by a different subsidiary of Areva, namely Somair and Cominak, and each mine has its own ore processing plant. 
Somair is a joint venture (JV) with a Niger State-owned company, Sopamin, while Cominak is a JV with Sopamin, Japanese uranium company Ourd and Enusa, of Spain. 
Since their establishment, more than 40 years ago, the two companies have together produced more than 100 000 t of uranium.

Areva is also developing the Imouraren deposit, in Niger, which has estimated reserves of 180 000 t. 
Production is scheduled to start in 2013 and this will be the second-largest uranium mine in the world. It is expected to produce 5 000 t/y or uranium and have a life of 35 years.

Areva is also developing the Bakouma project, in the Central African Republic. 
Located about 100 km north of the district capital of Bangassou and some 900 km north-east of the national capital of Bangui, Bakouma will also be an opencast mine and is expected to enter production in 2014 or 2015.

The company is also undertaking exploration in Gabon, in a programme that started last year and which will run until 2011, involving an investment of €4-million annually. 
Areva, through subsidiary Comuf, mined uranium in Gabon from the 1960s to the 1990s, producing 26 600 t of uranium from three openpit mines and three 
underground mines.

Areva, which is owned by the French State, is the biggest 
nuclear company in the world, and covers the entire spectrum, from the mining, processing and 
enriching of uranium through the production of nuclear fuel and the design, building, maintenance, upgrade and operation of nuclear 
reactors to the treatment and 
recycling of nuclear fuel and waste, the clean-up of nuclear 
facilities, and the supply of all nuclear support and logistics services.

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