Jabiluka Uranium Resources

Jabiluka is known to contain two separate uranium deposits - Jabiluka 1 & 2.

Jabiluka 1 is small with an estimated 3,250 tonnes of U3O8 at an average grade of 0.25% U3O8. Although originally proposed to be mined in the late 1970s by Pancontinental Mining, ERA have no plans or approvals in place for mining Jabiluka 1, and it is most likely it will never be mined (but who knows.....). Jabiluka 1 is also on the very edge of the Magela Floodplain and is occassionally flooded by the wet season rains.

Jabiluka 2 is one of the largest uranium deposits in the world, and remains open (unexplored) in some directions and thus could be proven to contain further reserves if the opportunity arises. However, the variable and vein-like nature of the mineralisation has seen the estimates vary over the past 20 years of 'economic' ore, due principally to the change in mining costs and the depressed price for uranium. The following table is an attempt at a compilation of the variable ore reserve estimates over the years :

Company
Year
Deposit
Ore
Mt
%U3O8
Cutoff
%U3O8
Total
t U3O8
Ref.
Pancontinental
Mining
1986
Jab-1
1.3
0.25%
0.05%
3,250 t
[1]
Jab-2 ##
52
0.39%
0.05%
202,800 t
[1]
Energy
Resources
of Australia
1996
Jab-2
[total]
19.5
[28.8]
0.46%
[0.52%]
0.20%
[0.20%]
90,400
[148,100]
[2]
[3]
2000
Jab-2
[total]
13.8
[31.1]
0.51%
[0.53%]
0.20%
[0.20%]
71,000
[163,000]
[3]
[3]

## - Part of Jabiluka 2 is estimated to contain about 1.1 Mt of ore with gold at 10.7 grams pre tonne (g/t), giving a gold resource of about 415,000 oz (equivalent to about US$112 million at current gold prices). ERA currently have no plans to extract this gold, even though the ore is part of the high grade uranium resources that would be mined anyway (IF Jabiluka proceeds).

References :
[1] - Hancock, M C, Maas, R & Wilde, A R, 1990, Jabiluka Uranium-Gold Deposits. In "Geology of the Mineral Deposits of Australia and Papua New Guinea. Ed. F E Hughes, AusIMM Monograph No. 14, Vol. 1, pp 785-793.
[2] - Draft Environmental Impact Statement : The Jabiluka Project. Jointly Prepared by Kinhill Engineers & ERA Environmental Services, October 1996.
[3] - Jabiluka Update. ERA Information Briefing, August 2000. (see website).

Page last updated January 4, 2001.
Back to the Jabiluka Archivesor Back to the SEA-US Front Page

Copyright © SEA-US 1998-2001