| Rössing Mine | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
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Rössing Mine
|
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| Location | Namib Desert |
| Region | Erongo |
| Country | Namibia |
| Owner | |
| Company | Rio Tinto Group, Iran, Namibia |
| Website | http://www.rossing.com/ |
| Production | |
| Products | Uranium |
| History | |
| Opened | 1976 |
The Rössing Uranium Mine in Namibia is one of the largest open pit uranium mines in the world and is located in the Namib Desert near the town of Arandis, which is 70 kilometres from the coastal town of Swakopmund. Namibia’s only deepwater harbour, Walvis Bay, is 30 kilometres south of Swakopmund. Discovered in 1928, the Rössing mine started operations in 1976 and, in 2005, produced 3,711 tonnes of uranium oxide, becoming the fifth-largest uranium mine with 8 per cent of global output. Namibia is the world's fourth-largest exporter of uranium.[1]
In the apartheid era, the Rössing uranium mine was the focus for international criticism and protests by anti-apartheid and anti-nuclear groups, mainly in Europe.[2] Recent reports that Rössing's uranium might be diverted to Iran, which owns 15% of the shares in the mine, have been denied by the mine's management.[3]
Contents |
Rössing is a low-grade ore body of huge extent. Producing 1,000 tonnes of uranium oxide requires processing of 3 million tonnes of ore, and in 2005 19.5 million tonnes of rock were mined and transported from the open pit to the processing plant. Of those, 12 million tonnes were uranium ore, which in turn required 226,276 tonnes of acid for processing into yellowcake, a powdered uranium concentrate which is the basis for nuclear reactor fuel.[1]
There are some fears that salt and uranium from the mine is endangering the farming industry in the Swakop River area. Rössing is working with the Namibian farmers on this issue.[4][5]
Shares in the mine are owned 69% by the Rio Tinto Group, 15% by the Government of Iran (purchased in 1976), 10% by IDC of South Africa, 3% by the Government of Namibia (with 51% of voting rights), and 3% by local individual shareholders.[6] Although Rössing's part-ownership by Iran was the cause of controversy in the 1970s and 1980s, the Namibian Government - in power since 1990 - has denied supplying Iran with Namibian uranium, which could be used for nuclear weapons.[7]
About 800 people were employed at the mine in 2005, of whom 96% are Namibians. Of these, 160 worked in the open pit, 186 in the processing plant, 267 engineering and 200 administrative personnel.[1] Most of the workers live in the mining settlement of Arandis or in nearby Swakopmund. Critics have argued that the mine has a history of racial discrimination against its black employees (a common feature of apartheid-era companies), including harsh disciplinary measures, abominable housing conditions at Arandis, and low wages. Even with substantial improvements in the 90s after Namibia's independence, blacks and their unions still claim being disadvantaged.[8]
For 2006 and 2007 the mine management has announced investment of about US$112 million, mostly on mining equipment such as haul trucks and shovels, as well as on updating the processing plant. The main target is to increase uranium oxide production to the mine's full planned capacity of 4,000 tonnes. Expansion plans are expected to extend the mine's life to at least 2016. The possibility of underground mining has been explored in the past, and stated to have the possibility of extending the life of the mine for several further decades.[9]