A recent study at Berkeley Energia Limited’s Salamanca uranium mine in Spain has found that the total upfront capital expenditure required is less than initially forecast.
According to a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study by engineering group Amec Foster Wheeler Group, final upfront direct costs for the project are €74.7m ($85.1m), 1% below estimates released in last summer’s definitive feasibility study. Berkeley said on 6 July that the revised figures confirmed Salamanca’s status “as one of the lowest cost uranium mine developments in the world”.
Managing Director Paul Atherley said: “Since our successful fundraise late last year, the site has been prepared for full construction, and we now have nearly 70 staff and contractors on site.” Berkeley said it would continue to pursue further “cost optimisation opportunities” as it moves into full construction this summer. The Salamanca mine, which will produce 4.4m lbs a year over ten years, is expected to cost a total of €82.3m.
