Name and Location
Salamanca uranium project, Spain.

Client
Berkley Resources.

Project Description
A scoping study on the Salamanca project has confirmed the technical and economic viability of the project.

The mineral resources estimate for the project comprises the Retorillo and Alameda deposits, which total 33.9-million pounds of uranium oxide (U₃O₈), supporting an average production of 3.2-million pounds of U₃O₈ during the seven years of steady-state production and 2.6-million pounds of U₃O₈ over a minimum 11-year mine life.

Envisaged is an openpit mining and heap-leaching operation, a centralised process plant at Retortillo and a remote ion-exchange operation at Alameda, with loaded resin trucked to the centralised plant for final extraction and purification.

Value
The initial capital cost of the project is estimated at $83.6-million.

This includes all mine, processing, infrastructure and indirect costs required to develop and start production at Retortillo.

An additional $95-million will be required in the second year of production to develop Alameda and achieve steady-state production.

This will largely be funded from operating cash flow.

The capital costs reflect the excellent existing infrastructure at the project and the use of heap leaching as the preferred processing route, as well as the favoured mining contractor scenario.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Berkley is expected to award and immediately start the prefeasibility study (PFS) and expects completion of the PFS in mid-2013.

During the PFS phase, the company will undertake a more detailed mine scheduling and materials movement optimisation study, a metallurgical testwork programme and infrastructure assessment.

The aim is to identify opportunities to further enhance the project economics through capital and operating cost reductions.

Resource infill and exploration drilling programmes aimed at upgrading the resource classification and increasing the overall resource base are also under way.

Further optimisation of the mine schedule and materials movement will be undertaken to accelerate the ramp-up to steady-state operation and minimise handling and rehandling.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Berkley Resources, tel 61 8 9322 6322, fax +61 8 9322 6558 or email info@berkleyresources.com.au.