Uranium project developer Tasman RSA Mines says that draft environmental impact assessment (EIA) and environmental management plan (EMP) reports for the company’s mining rights applications for Ryst Kuil and Quaggafontein, which form part of the Karoo uranium mining project, in the Western Cape, will be completed and made available for public review in July.

“Obtaining the environmental approvals is . . . the next key accomplishment for Tasman,” MD Willie Bezuidenhout tells Mining Weekly, noting that the final EMP and EIA which needed to be submitted to the Western Cape Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) by the end of July are now due at the end of September.

During the first quarter of the year, draft EIA and EMP reports were also completed for the Kareepoort mining rights application, in the Eastern Cape, and made available for public review. The final versions of these documents had to be submitted to the DMR by the end of May, but the company has been granted an extension and will now submit these at the end of July.

In 2016, Tasman started with a rationalisation and restructuring process aimed at reducing its tenement landholdings. Subject to the completion of the various regulatory processes, Tasman’s total tenement holding will amount to 3 706 km². Tasman’s black economic- empowerment partners have a 26% interest, as required by South African law.

The mining rights applications cover resources comprising about 44-million pounds of uranium, at a cutoff of 600 parts per million (ppm), with the average grade more than 1 000 ppm. “It is shallow and relatively easy to mine,” says Bezuidenhout.

Uranium will be mined mostly through openpit, with three underground sections leading from the underground areas in the Ryst Kuil section.

Ore will be transported from Kareepoort, Quaggasfontein and other mining areas in Ryst Kuil to the central processing plant in Ryst Kuil.

The business plan for the project relies on the uranium oxide being sold to overseas utilities. However, there may be future opportunities to supply uranium oxide locally, Bezuidenhout notes.

He recounts the company’s efforts in the public participation process, facilitated by the appointed environmental practitioner, Ferret Mining Services, over several years, stressing that engagement has been “extensive”.

Bezuidenhout underscores key highlights, particularly in the disciplines of water, radiation and social impact, from the technical studies undertaken for the EIAs and the EMPs.

In terms of the groundwater impact, Bezuidenhout says that the studies on the historical trial mining area at Ryst Kuil confirmed good-quality groundwater fit for human consumption, while acid mine drainage would not be a concern.

At Kareepoort, modelling has shown that, one year after mining, the groundwater levels recover to premining levels.

Part of the long-term estimates of modelling for the EIA involves assessing, quantifying and predicting the water quality after mining, and modelling indicates that there would be a difference only in the electrical conductivity of the water at Kareepoort.

“Although the report refers to a pollution plume, it means that, between the baseline condition now and in ten years, the electrical conductivity will differ, but the quality is still suitable for human consumption,” Bezuidenhout says.

Meanwhile, the radiological-impact assessment studies indicate that the maximum radiation impact on critical receptors from the Kareepoort area is 0.052 mSV/y.

The South African National Nuclear Regulator’s (NNR’s) radiological risk criteria stipulate a maximum additional allowable public dose limit of 0.25 mSv/y above background radiation levels. This is more stringent than the additional 1 mSV/year international limit of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Bezuidenhout also points out that, while the introduction of the mining industry to the Karoo may create some uncertainty in terms of the social impact, the Karoo project has the potential to create more than 700 job opportunities. Tasman also has a strong focus on training and skills development, as well as recruiting personnel from Beaufort West, Aberdeen and the surrounding areas.