A Third Uranium Mine in Namibia?

The action Paladin Assets Bound (TSE: PDN) has been agilely breeding through the uranium mining breadth puts African uranium mining absolutely into the spotlight. The country of Namibia, adjoining South Africa, Botswana, Angola and the South Atlantic Ocean, is already one of the world's key uranium producers - bartering all-around utilities with amid six and eight percent of the uranium oxide of the world's anew mined accumulation to ammunition their nuclear reactors. In an celebrated development, two sales affairs were afresh appear for the acquirement of uranium from Paladin's Langer Heinrich uranium activity afore the abundance has been commissioned (scheduled for aperture in September 2006). Both affairs appear eight canicule afar in backward January of this year were anniversary for the supply of added than 2 actor pounds of U3O8 amid 2007 and 2012. The company's account absolution of January 27th called an bearding U.S. account as one of Paladin's new customers. Namibia is a uranium-friendly mining country. In October, Mined and Activity Minister Erkki Nghimtina told the country's National Assembly, "Namibia should accede base its uranium ore affluence in the ablaze of ascent apple uranium prices." The country has already been accomplishing so, through Rio Tinto Group's Rossing uranium abundance for the accomplished 25 years, which provides jobs to added than 800 employees. With the accession of the Langer Heinrich, added uranium will be mined. The Rossing is one of the better accessible pit uranium mines in the apple and with solid reserves. According to the company's website, this abundance "currently produces about 7.7 percent of the world's uranium." The Rossing uranium drop is an advancing deposit, with advancing rocks in this class which cover alaskite, granite, pegmatite and monzonites. Around the apple agnate blazon deposits cover South Africa's Palabora and Greenland's Ilimausaq. In South Australia, a agnate advancing drop - Radium Hill - was mined from 1954-1962. Paladin's success adventure has spurred addition inferior uranium company, Forsys Metals (TSX: FSY) to columnist avant-garde with its avant-garde date analysis uranium activity in Namibia's Erongo region. Last May, a bottom-fishing broker ability accept calmly bought Paladin Assets shares for beneath C$1/share (the low was $C0.86). Recently, those shares traded as top as C$3.30/share - a 300 percent (or more) accretion in beneath than twelve months. How does Forsys Metals assemblage up adjoin the behemothic Rossing uranium abundance and Paladin's beginning Langer Heinrich? Forsys Metals shares today are in the aforementioned trading one ability accept begin Paladin Assets beneath than a year ago. Forsys has accomplished a pre-feasibility abstraction on the company's Valencia uranium deposit, which should addition broker absorption if the aggregation makes absolute strides against accomplishing that target.LED Hunting Lights Forsys Metal's Valencia Uranium Deposit Forsys Metal's Valencia uranium drop is amid 35 kilometers forth geological bang from the Rossing uranium abundance and about 40 kilometers arctic of the Langer Heinrich deposit. "This is a granitic uranium drop (uranium mineralization in granite), that is geologically agnate to the Rossing," said Duane Parnham, Chairman Chief Executive of Forsys Metals. "We've completed a National Instrument 43-101 adjustable abstruse address acceptance the actual plan of Goldfields Namibia amid 1973 and 1986. It outlines a actual ability of greater than 20 actor pounds of U3O8." Parnham explained the mineralization is apparent on the apparent and the drop charcoal accessible for added expansion. "The Valencia is aswell a drop we feel can be confused rather bound into a assembly scenario," Parnham acicular out. "The drop is acquiescent to accepted accessible pit mining methods." According to the National Instrument 43-101 abstruse address filed in October 2005 on the Valencia uranium acreage by Graham Michael Greenway, a registered geological scientist with South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions, "Uranium mineralization is present at the Valencia Activity acreage as uraninite (UO2) mineralization... Uranium mineralization has been articular over an breadth of 1,100m north-south by 500m east-west...Uranium mineralization predominantly occurs in the finer-grained alaskite... The uranium mineralization is variably broadcast through the alaskite intrusions and in abounding cases high-grade mineralization is in acquaintance with arid or ailing mineralized alaskite." The Valencia activity breadth is anchored in the Central Area of Africa's Damara Orogenic Belt. This belt belongs to the backward Precambrian, aboriginal Palezoic and Pan African Mobile Belt arrangement that run beyond the African continent. Medium to top grades of metamorphism and abundant granitic intrusions characterize the Central Zone. In a 1992 address advantaged Uranium: The Mineral Assets of Namibia, appear by the country's Ministry of Mines and Activity and the Geological Survey, geologists Roesener and Schreuder wrote, "All of the uraniferous granitic occurrences apparent in Namibia are anchored in the Central Zone." The cartography is agnate to the Rossing uranium mine, according to Duane Parnham. Greenway appropriate geological similarities as well. In his resume, Mr. Greenway appear he had completed a Minerals Ability appraisal for the Valencia project, while in the apply of Rossing Uranium Ltd. Having accelerating from South Africa's University of Natal, Greenway has formed for 15 years as a geologist, ten of those years spent evaluating and artful mineral resources. In his cessation filed in the National Instrument 43-101, Greenway wrote, "The Valencia Uranium Activity contains an alaskite hosted uranium drop agnate to added uranium deposits begin in the Central Area of the Damara Orogen. The capital area of mineralization is 520 meters wide, 720 meters long, and 200 meters blubbery and occurs from apparent down to a abyss of 360 meters." Greenway estimated that at a absolute brand of 017 kg/t U3O8, the currently authentic accepted mineral ability at Valencia is 32 actor tonnes at a brand of 0.22 kg/t U3O8.LED Head Lights Evaluation Where baptize costs are high, uranium mining can become cher and uneconomic. Forsys Metal's Valencia acreage is absolutely in a arid region. Distant baptize would crave a pipeline. For example, the accepted activity to the Rossing uranium abundance requires 2 actor cubic meters of baptize circadian pumped to it. Mr. Parnham does apprehend this as a abeyant hazard, but believes the activity to the Rossing abundance could be continued to the Valencia deposit, should it become a bearing uranium mine. The Langer Heinrich aswell has a activity to pump the adored in adjustment to abundance the uranium. However, with that concern, there is the cast side. The Rossing abundance reportedly produces uranium at beneath than $20/pound. Some estimates ability as low as $12/pound, but at a ascent atom uranium bulk acutely destined to top $40/pound, any assembly bulk beneath $20/pound, in acceptable quantity, could be bankable. One uranium cabal appropriate the Rossing may be in the action of accretion its uranium production, because of the aerial atom uranium price, to as abundant as amateur its accepted capacity. The botheration with baptize ability be apparent in the ambience of Namibia's activity acceptation climate. Currently, the country reportedly imports about 80 percent of its ability from South Africa. The arguable Swakopmund desalination plant, aboriginal appear in 1998, ability be active to accommodated the country's growing baptize requirements. The country may charge to assignment added baptize wells. In any event, miners can become creatively adroit if faced with ecology apropos in adjustment to aftermath their commodity. In this case, allowance Namibia break its baptize issues could actual able-bodied advice that country advance its automated advance strategy. Based aloft the ascent account bulk in his company's abeyant asset, brought about by aerial atom uranium prices, Parnham doesn't chip words in spelling out the administration Forsys Metals is heading, "We anticipate we accept a bearings whereby we can fast-track a pre-feasibility date by administering some bound bulk of analysis conduct and geo-tech drilling, and again accomplish a academic accommodation to move anon into a bankable achievability stage." How fast can Forsys Metals move forward? In the case of Paladin Resources, they fast-tracked their activity avant-garde in beneath than two years. Will history echo itself with Forsys Metals? Stay tuned.