Toro’s Wiluna Uranium Project is set to become one of Australia’s new uranium producers. Our flagship asset is located 30km from the town of Wiluna in central Western Australia.
AUSTRALIA’S URANIUM – THE WILUNA PROJECT
The Wiluna Uranium Project is centred on its planned processing facility located 30km south of the town of Wiluna in the northern goldfields of Western Australia.
In 2013, Toro Energy was the first company to obtain State and Federal environmental approvals for a Western Australian uranium project – the Centipede and Lake Way deposits and the associated processing facility. Extensions to those State and Federal approvals are now being sought to incorporate mining from the Millipede and Lake Maitland deposits.
Toro’s Wiluna regional resource contains approximately 80.5 million pounds of U3O8 (as uranium oxide), sufficient resources to run the planned Wiluna mine for over 20 years. The Wiluna mine is one of only a handful of new projects worldwide capable of bringing new production to the market in the medium term when a shortfall is predicted around 2020.
Project Highlights
| Resources | 79Mt @ 482ppm for 84Mlb U3O8 (200ppm cut-off) for six deposits, including
23Mt @ 916ppm for 40Mlb U3O8 (500ppm cut-off) for four deposits |
| Deposits | Centipede, Millipede, Lake Maitland, Lake Way, Dawson Hinkler, Nowthanna |
| Permits | Centipede and Lake Way approved for mining and processing facility and infrastructure at Centipede
Mining of Millipede and Lake Maitland deposits under government assessment |
| Mine life | 16 years from Centipede, Millipede, Lake Maitland and Lake Way |
| Mining | Open pit, to a depth of 10 metres |
| Plant capacity | 1.3Mt/a |
| Processing method | Alkaline leach with direct precipitation |
| Cost | Capital construction cost of US$180M – US$220M Average C1(1) cost for life of project of US$31.1/lb |
| Tailings | In-pit tailings disposal |
| Average head grade | 800ppm+ with a target of 1,000 ppm |
| Recovery | 86% |
| Production | 30.1Mlb U3O8 |
| Transport | Road transport to Port Adelaide for shipment |
(1) C1 operating cost includes all mining, processing, site administration and transport costs but excludes royalties and any sales adjustments. Calculated by reference to the A$:US$ forward curve as at 16th January 2014.
Toro’s Preliminary Economic Assessment is based on an independent Mining Scoping Study completed in January 2014. Full details of the pro-forma economics for the Wiluna Project can be found at the ASX announcement page.
The Scoping Study incorporates all the Measured and Indicated Resources at the Centipede, Millipede, Lake Maitland and Lake Way deposits which form the basis of the economic mine decision for Wiluna. The Dawson Hinkler and Nowthanna deposits, which contain Indicated and Inferred Resources, have not been included in the mine plan at this stage.