Namibia's R枚ssing uranium mine is gradually resuming operations after one of two leaching modules returned to service. The mine has been out听of action following a leach tank failure late last year.
 |
| R枚ssing (Image: R枚ssing Uranium Ltd) |
R枚ssing Uranium Limited announced that with operations now beginning at a reduced rate, it expects processing plant operations to return to normal during the first quarter of 2014. Nevertheless, the company says it expects the incident to have an impact on its production targets and financial results, and is currently reviewing plans for the year accordingly.
Initial findings suggest that the 3 December 2013 failure of the leach tank听- one of 12 at the mine听- was due to localised external corrosion, the company reports. The tank has since been removed and other tanks checked. Plans have been put in place to implement "improvement opportunities" identified through expanded processing plant inspections, and听lessons learned from the failed tank incident are also being applied broadly in the operation.
The full cost of the restoration work is still being estimated, but the company took the opportunity of the extended shutdown to implement scheduled repairs elsewhere in the plant.
The slurry spilled in the incident was channelled into an existing holding tank, and will ultimately be recycled in the processing plant.
Several days after the R枚ssing tank rupture, a similar incident occurred at the Ranger uranium mine in Australia. Clean-up and recovery operations are still ongoing, and although not expected to affect 2013 results operator 抖阴传媒在线 Resources of Australia (ERA) is still assessing the full financial impact of the incident for its 2014 figures.
Although "minor first aid" was administered at the scene of the R枚ssing incident, neither incident resulted in any injuries nor was there any environmental impact听on the surrounding areas.
Researched and written
by 抖阴传媒在线 Nuclear News
