Name and Location
Imouraren uranium mine, Niger.

Client
Areva will have a 66.65% share in the newly created mining company, with the remaining 33.35% being owned by the State of Niger.

Project Description
The Imouraren orebody is between 105 m and 170 m below the surface, with an average grade of 660 g/t of uranium rock extracted.

The Imouraren uranium deposit will be exploited with an openpit mine and to reach the deposit, the rock lying above will be removed. These stripping operations require using a fleet of heavy mining equipment especially designed for this type of deposit. This equipment includes shovels with buckets that can hold 15 m³ to 35 m³ of rock, and trucks with a capacity of 220 t.

The surface facilities, consisting of tyre repair and equipment maintenance shops for the estimated 20 pieces of mining equipment, as well as refuelling, lubrication and washing installations, will also be built.

The ore will be processed using a static treatment – acid heap leaching. This requires the construction of a leach pad – a flat, slightly sloped area covering more than 42 ha and made impermeable by a layer of compacted clay and a geomembrane liner. A 6-m-thick drainage layer of ore  is formed to facilitate the circulation of the acid solution through the ore heap and the recovery of the uranium-bearing solution at the base. Treatment of the ore also calls for the installation of various types of equipment for chemical processing.

It will be the first time this processing method is used for a deposit of this size.

The mine will have a nominal capacity of 5 000 t/y and a life-of-mine of 35 years.

Value
The project involves an initial investment of more than €1.9-billion.

Duration
Mining is expected to begin in 2015.

Latest Developments
Areva will delay the start of uranium production from its Imouraren mine by at least six months to the end of 2015, according to Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou.

The mine was initially due to start production in 2012. The date has been repeatedly deferred amid security fears in the north with mid-2015 the most recent target deadline.

"We think that production at Imouraren will begin at the end of 2015, start of 2016," Issoufou said. "We have established this timeframe taking into consideration Areva's concerns."

In January, Areva agreed to pay €35-million in compensation for delays to the project.

Speaking ahead of the Franco-African Summit, Issoufou told reporters he was confident that the ten-year contracts for mines, run by Areva in northern Niger, would be renewed by the end of the year, with a fair outcome for both sides.

Niger and Areva are in final negotiations over the terms of their partnership deals for the Somair and Cominak mines, which together produced about 4 500 t of uranium last year.

The ten-year contracts expire at the end of this year and Niger, one of the poorest countries, wants to dramatically increase the state's revenues from the mines.

Niger is calling on the company to invest in infrastructure, including resurfacing the so-called 'uranium road' that links the town of Tahoua and the remote mining region of Arlit, more than 1 000 km north of the capital Niamey.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Production from Imouraren is expected to start at the end of 2015, following delays as a result of political turbulence in the country, including the kidnapping of foreign workers in September 2010 and labour disputes in 2012, which triggered strikes.

Contact Details for Project Information
Areva Niger communications officer Salifou Yaye, tel + 227 20 72 39 27 or email salifou.yaye@areva.com.