VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Project developer Plateau Uranium has passed the first major milestone on the way to production permitting and a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) study for its Macusani uranium project, in Peru.

Andean communities and the Peruvian Environmental Authority have accepted and approved the TSX-V-listed company’s environmental baseline study lodged in September.

"Acceptance and approvals for the design, scope and methodology of the baseline study received from environmental authorities is a further indication of Peruvian government support for the project and is the first step towards permitting future uranium and lithium production,” stated CEO Ted O'Connor.

Following the acceptance approvals, the company has mobilised its environmental and engineering consultant to initiate the baseline study monitoring and sample collection in the area of interest and to proceed with the other technical, biological, hydrological, social, cultural and archaeological studies in the project area that will allow Plateau to proceed with the future EIA study necessary for future production permitting.

Plateau owns significant uranium exploration properties in the Puno province, in south-eastern Peru, and it is considered one of the largest undeveloped uranium projects in the world containing large measured, indicated and inferred uranium resources. The company was formerly known as Macusani Yellowcake, and effected a name change on May 1, 2015, together with a one-for-eight share consolidation.

The company controls over 1 000 km² of territory on the Macusani plateau, where it has established a compliant indicated resource estimate of 51.9-million pounds at 248 parts per million (ppm) uranium oxide (U₃O₈) and 72.1-million pounds grading 251 ppm U₃O₈ in the inferred category, when using 75 ppm uranium cutoff.

At 200 ppm uranium cutoff, Plateau has defined higher-grade resources of 32.8-million pounds at 445 ppm U₃O₈ in the indicated category and 45.9-million pounds grading at 501 ppm U₃O₈ in the inferred category.

Plateau has also defined initial lithium and potassium resource estimates within four of the company’s uranium deposits. These comprise 67 000 t of lithium oxide (Li₂O) at 0.13% Li₂O, 2.34-million tonnes potassium oxide (K₂O) at 4.47 % K₂O and 31-million pounds U₃O₈ at 268 ppm U₃O₈, all in the indicated category. It also holds 109 000 t of Li₂O at 0.12% Li₂O, 3.93-million tonnes K₂O at 4.49 % K₂O and 54.8-million pounds U₃O₈ at 283 ppm U₃O₈, all in the inferred category.

With the updated preliminary economic assessment filed in February based on uranium prices of $50/lb U₃O₈ over the ten-year life-of-mine, current uranium spot prices are not spurring new developments. Uranium spot prices have more than halved over the past 12 months to stand at $18.50/lb on Monday, according to advisory firm UxC.