australia's identified mineral resources 2004 - Geoscience Australia

AUSTRALIA’S IDENTIFIED MINERAL RESOURCES 2004
URANIUM
The majority of Australia’s uranium deposits were discovered between 1969 and 1975 – approximately
50 deposits (15 with significant resource estimates) were discovered during this short period. Since
1975, only another four deposits have been discovered – of these four, only one deposit (Kintyre in
the Paterson Province of WA) has Reasonably Assured Resources recoverable at less than US$40/kg U
(equates with EDR). Hence, the progressive increases in Australia’s EDR for uranium from 1975 to
the present (as shown on Fig. 1) were due to on-going delineation of resources at known deposits.
From 1983 onwards, the Olympic Dam deposit has been the major contributor to increases in
Australia’s EDR. The large increases shown on Fig. 1 were due to the following:
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in 1983, initial resource estimates for Olympic Dam and Ranger No. 3 Orebody (NT) made by the
former Australian Atomic Energy Commission (‘i’).
in 1993, further increases in EDR for Olympic Dam (based on estimates reported by WMC
Resources Ltd), and first assessment of resources for the Kintyre deposit by the former Bureau of
Mineral Resources (‘j’).
in 2000 and 2002, increases were due to continuing additions to the Olympic Dam resources.
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