Namibian Mining News The Professional Mining Journal
Related Articles
Perth & Namibia: Elevate Uranium is forging ahead with its ambitious plan to construct a demonstration plant for its patented U-pgrade™ technology, a move that could redefine the economics of surficial uranium ore processing. The plant, slated for completion by mid-2025, will be deployed at the company’s Koppies project in Namibia, marking a pivotal step towards commercialisation.
The U-pgrade™ process, developed on ore from Elevate’s Marenica Uranium Project, promises to significantly reduce waste and concentrate uranium into a high-grade, low-mass concentrate before leaching. This groundbreaking approach has the potential to slash both operating and capital costs by a staggering 50% compared to conventional processing methods.
“This demonstration plant aims to confirm, at a scalable size and operating continuously, that the U-pgrade™ beneficiation process can remove gangue waste material and concentrate the uranium mineral into a low-mass, high-grade concentrate before leaching,” explained Elevate Uranium Managing Director, Murray Hill.
The plant, constructed in Perth, will undergo rigorous factory acceptance testing before being containerised and shipped to Namibia. There, it will be reassembled and used to process at least 60 tons of Koppies ore. The results of this trial will be instrumental in guiding the design of a full-scale commercial U-pgrade™ processing facility.
Bench-scale testing at the Marenica Uranium Project has already yielded remarkable results, demonstrating the technology’s ability to concentrate uranium by a factor of up to 50, increasing ore grades from 93 ppm to approximately 5,000 ppm U3O8. Furthermore, the process rejects about 98% of the mass before leaching, producing a high-grade concentrate in a low mass of around 2% (leach feed).
“Our metallurgical team’s recent visit to Namibia was productive, and we are moving forward with the necessary approvals,” Hill added. “We are excited about the potential of this demonstration plant to validate our U-pgrade™ process for commercialisation of the Koppies Uranium Project.”
Fremantle Metallurgy, a company with extensive experience in designing and constructing similar plants for industry giants like BHP, has been awarded the construction contract. The company’s team has already conducted site assessments in Namibia and is working closely with regulatory authorities to secure the necessary approvals.
Beyond its application at the Marenica Uranium Project, the U-pgrade™ process has shown promise for treating superficial secondary uranium deposits in both Namibia and Australia. If successful, this technology could unlock significant economic potential for these resources, transforming the landscape of uranium mining.
