Deep Yellow exploring potential to mine critical minerals at Mulga Rock uranium project

The company behind a planned uranium mine east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder is investigating the potential of mining critical minerals to boost the value and life of the proposed operation.

Deep Yellow has been reappraising the Mulga Rock project 290km north-east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder since securing a $658 million merger in August with Vimy Resources, the company that initiated the proposal.

Deep Yellow told the ASX last week it had been assessing minerals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc and rare earths known to be present in the Mulga Rock deposits in “potentially economic quantities”.

“To date the work has been restricted to the Ambassador and Princess deposits, as these appear to have the highest critical mineral endowment and are the main sources of ore reserves for the Vimy 2018 definitive feasibility study where a 15-year life of mine was determined,” the company said.

Deep Yellow said the 2018 study was restricted to a highly selective mining model that considered only uranium value to generate the ore reserves and then the base metals consequentially contained within this reserve inventory.

“It is important to note that base metals recovery is a condition of the current mining approvals, and this work is being undertaken to maximise the value of this mandated material recovery,” the company said.

“The assessment work carried out by Deep Yellow on the Mulga Rock has focused on incorporation of all the base metals and rare earth elements within the expanded uranium resource, concentrating on the Mulga Rock East deposits.

“The work indicates potential for significant increase in project value and the strong likelihood that the project life beyond 20 years can be achieved from these deposits alone.”

Deep Yellow said the re-evaluation work completed to date also identified the potential to increase the overall uranium resource within these deposits because of the inclusion of peripheral lower grade uranium associated with base metals-dominated zones.

“This work has demonstrated the need to reconsider the project approach and consider all minerals that could have economic potential in the revised definitive feasibility now being undertaken,” the company said.

Deep Yellow in October confirmed it would complete a revised definitive feasibility study by the middle of 2024.

However, this timeline has drawn criticism from opponents of the Mulga Rock project.

Speaking in State Parliament on November 17, WA Greens Member for the South Metropolitan Region Brad Pettitt said the fact a new study was being undertaken, and would not be ready until 2024, suggested “the project is clearly not feasible and probably not happening”.

Dr Pettitt said this made it “hard to understand how this company has been able to convince this government that it has substantially commenced a mine when the feasibility of said mine will not even be determined for another two years”.

“The implication of this government’s decision to accept that the Mulga Rock project has substantially commenced is that a community that has been fighting against uranium mining for decades is left living with the constant threat of a uranium mine,” he said.

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation last December ruled Vimy Resources had achieved substantial commencement just before the expiry of the five-year deadline imposed when the project was approved on December 16, 2016.