All a matter of timing !, page-18

Top 5 biggest Uranium Resources , 2 Australian Companies BHP Billiton and Greenland Minerals and Energy (GGG) - Market Cap 29 Million and has inferred resource of 593 million pounds.

1. OLYMPIC DAM, AUSTRALIA
BHP Billiton’s (NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP; LON: BLT) 100%-owned Olympic Dam iron oxide copper-gold mine in Australia comes out on top. Located 560 km north of Adelaide, Olympic Dam is one of the world’s largest deposits of copper, gold and uranium. It also hosts large amounts of silver.
As of June 2016, the underground mine contained measured and indicated resources of 6.2 billion tonnes grading 0.03% uranium oxide (U₃O₈) for 3.3 million lb., which includes 678.5 million lb. in reserves. Inferred resources are 4.2 billion tonnes at 0.02% U₃O₈ for 2.2 million lb. tonnes. This puts uranium reserves and resources at 5.5 billion lb. U₃O₈.

Facilities at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam copper-uranium-gold mine in South Australia, where the company has delayed a US$30-billion expansion amid rising capital costs. Source: BHP Billiton.
2. HAGGAN, SWEDEN
Aura Energy’s (ASX: AEE) wholly owned Haggan exploration project forms part of a large uranium field in central Sweden, 34 km north of Lugnik. The uranium occurs with molybdenum, nickel, vanadium and zinc in black shales.
A 2012 scoping study suggests Haggan could produce 7.8 million lb. U₃O₈ a year for 30 years. Estimated start-up costs are US$540 million. An August 2012 resource estimate shows Haggan contains 2.3 billion inferred tonnes at 0.02% U₃O₈ for 803 million lb.
Aura has started a community engagement program at the project; however, the company notes its 2017 focus is on completing a feasibility study at its smaller Tiris uranium project in Mauritania. Tiris is a shallow open-pit project with 49 million lb. U₃O₈ in indicated and inferred. Estimated start-up costs are US$45 million, with production set to start in late 2018 or early 2019.

Local employees process core at Greenland Minerals and Energy’s Kvanefjeld rare earth elements-uranium-zinc project in southern Greenland. Source: Greenland Minerals and Energy.
3. KVANEFJELD, GREENLAND
Greenland Minerals and Energy’s (ASX: GGG) Kvanefjeld rare earth elements and uranium project sits in the Ilímaussaq complex in southern Greenland. The company completed a prefeasibility study on Kvanefgeld in 2012, followed by a feasibility study in 2015.

Overview of the Narsaq Peninsula in southern Greenland. The Kvanefjeld project is accessible year-round by ship from the North Atlantic. Credit: Greenland Minerals and Energy.
As of 2015, the project’s three deposits — Kvanefjeld, Sorensen and Zone 3 — had 451 million measured and indicated tonnes at 0.03% U₃O₈ for 267.3 million lb., plus 559 million inferred tonnes at 0.03% U₃O₈ for 325.3 million lb. Combined, Kvanefjeld hosts 593 million lb. U₃O₈.
Last September, Greenland Minerals reported the leading rare earth firm Shenghe Resources Holding agreed to acquire 12.5% of the company and start a strategic working relationship to help develop Kvanefjeld.
4. KARATAU, KAZAKHSTAN
Karatau is an operating in-situ recovery uranium mine in the Chu-Sarysu basin in the Suzak region, South Kazakhstan province. The mine is operated by the Karatau joint venture, where Uranium One (TSX: UUU) owns 50% and state-owned firm Kazatomprom owns the other half.
Karatau started commercial production in 2009. As of June 2012, reserves stood on a 100% basis at 149 million tonnes grading 0.041% U₃O₈ for 135 million lb. Measured and indicated resources are 86.5 million tonnes at 0.087% U₃O₈ for 166 million lb., plus inferred resources of 65.9 million at 0.112% U₃O₈ for 163 million lb. This puts the combined uranium reserves and resources at 464 million lb.
Early this January, Kazatomprom said it intends to cut its 2017 planned uranium output by 10% due to the slow recovery in the uranium market. The reduction will affect all mines wholly and jointed owned by Kazatomprom.

The McArthur River Uranium mine in Saskatchewan. Credit: Cameco Corp.
5. MCARTHUR, CANADA
Cameco’s (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) 70%-held McArthur River uranium mine is in the Athabasca basin of northern Saskatchewan. Areva Resources Canada holds the remaining 30%. The high-grade underground mine has been in production since 1999. At the end of 2015, McArthur River had reserves of 1.4 million tonnes grading 10.94% U₃O₈ for 336.5 lb. It had 66,800 measured and indicated tonnes at 3.77% U₃O₈ for 5.6 million lb., plus 344,200 inferred tonnes at 7.72% U₃O₈ for 58.6 million lb. Combined, the mine has uranium reserves and resources of 400.7 million lb. on a 100% basis.
Early last year, Cameco scaled back McArthur River’s 2016 output to 18 million lb. from 20 million lb. on a 100% due to the continuing weakness in the uranium market.
In January 2017, Cameco said it plans to reduce the workforce at McArthur River, Key Lake and Cigar Lake uranium operations by 10%, or 120 employees in total, to reduce costs. The reductions should wrap up by the end of May 2017.
ON HOLD
Projects with significant uranium reserves/resources on hold include Continental Precious Minerals’ (TSX: CZQ) MMS Viken uranium polymetallic project in Sweden. The company wrote down the value of the project, containing 1.16 billion lb. in indicated and inferred, to $1 last year, after it failed to find a buyer.
Areva’s majority-held Imouraren uranium development project in Niger is on ice until uranium prices pick up. The project hosts uranium reserves and resources of 727 million lb.