Name and Location
Four Mile uranium project, Australia.

Client
The project is a joint venture (JV) between Quasar Resources (75%), an affiliate of Heathgate Resources, and Alliance Resources (25%).

Project Description
The Four Mile project could become the highest-grade and largest operating in situ recovery (ISR) mine in the world. The project is located 550 km north of Adelaide, in South Australia. The sandstone-hosted deposit is defined by two mineralised zones within tertiary sediments – Four Mile East and Four Mile West – which occur within laterally extensive sands 140 m to 210 m deep.

Envisaged as an on-site recovery-style mining operation, with uranium to be captured at Heathgate Resources’ Pannikan satellite plant, and elution, precipitation, drying and packing to take place at Heathgate’s Beverley processing plant.

The project is estimated to host a total mineral resource of 9.8-million tonnes, grading 0.44% uranium oxide (U₃O₈) for 71-million pounds of U₃O₈.

The project is expected to produce about 2.12-million pounds of U₃O₈.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
A$97.8-million.

To date, about A$120-million has been invested in the project.

Duration
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill officially opened the Four Mile uranium mine on June 26, 2014.

Latest Developments
Alliance has made the decision not to contribute the 2015 capital expenditure (capex) planned for the Four Mile uranium project, after Quasar refused to sell its share of the Four Mile product, thereby depriving Alliance subsidiary Alliance Craton Explorer of funds that it would have used to defray its share of expenses.

Alliance estimates that since the start of mining in June, until the end of November this year, its share of production from Four Mile will have amounted to 367 119 lb, worth an estimated A$16.3-million.

Between December 2014 and December 2016, the company’s share of the Four Mile production was estimated to be around 502 422 lb, worth an estimated A$22.3-million.

As a result of the decision, Alliance will have no outgoing association with the Four Mile project after December 2014 and until January 2016, and the company’s interest in the Four Mile project will be reduced from 25% to about 15% by the end of December 2015.

Earlier this month, Alliance lodged a grievance with the Supreme Court of Australia against JV partner Quasar Resources, to gain control of its share of production from the Four Mile mine.

Quasar had previously passed the 2015 programme and budget for the uranium project, without Alliance’s support, saying at the time that it would stockpile all the 2014 and 2015 production from the mine, thereby generating no revenue in 2015.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Heathgate Resources (feasibility study); and Adelaide Control Engineering (final optimisation study).

On Budget and on Time?
The project has been delayed, owing to legal disputes between Alliance, Quasar and Heathgate.

Contact Details for Project Information
Alliance Resources, tel +61 3 9697 9090, fax +61 3 9697 9091 or email info@allianceresources.com.au.
Quasar Resources, tel +61 8 8110 0500, fax +61 8 8212 5559 or email info@quasarresources.com.au.