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Nternational Atomic Energy Agency, 1996. - 130 p. <em>For over two decades, the IAEA has published a large number of reports dealing with uranium geology, exploration, ore processing and, to a lesser extent, also with mining. Almost all of these reports are strongly emphasizing the technology. The economic evaluation at the various stages of a uranium resource project, from exploration to production, is barely covered. The purpose of the present publication is to provide a brief guideline on the various processes, from pre-evaluation to feasibility study, that can be used to test whether a project has a potential of being viable. This is a necessary exercise that can avoid unnecessary expenditure on a project that has no or little economic potential. History has shown that there were too many projects in the uranium exploration and production fields that have been operating for several years, even decades, only to be abandoned for lack of proper economic evaluation at the appropriate time or stage. As more and more countries are switching from centrally planned to the market economy system, the need for a realistic economic evaluation of a uranium production project in these countries becomes more apparent. The IAEA wishes to thank the consultants and their associates who took part in the preparation of this publication: C. Caleix (Compagnie générale des matières nucléaires - COGEMA, France), R.L. Davidoff and D. Boleneus (US Bureau of Mines, USA), J. Goode (KILBORN Inc., Canada). The IAEA officers responsible for this work were M. Tauchidand and J.-P. Nicolet of the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Management. M. Tauchid also assisted in the preparation of some of the sections and in the final editing. <strong>Contents General project development procedure Philosophy Study stages Examples Target setting Project objective Geological targets Pre-evaluation Requirements Geology Mining considerations Process options Project options Costing Discussion of simplified cash-flow analysis Conclusion Pre-feasibility Requirements General design Project schedule Capital and operating costs Pre-feasibility cash flow and DCFROR analysis Intermediate assessments Resource and geological information Mining Processing Infrastructure Financial Feasibility study A typical feasibility study Further cash flow and sensitivity analysis Appendix I: Open pit and underground mine capital costs Appendix II: Definition of various cash flow items Bibliography Contributors to drafting and review
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IAEA-TECDOC-885
Steps for preparing uranium production feasibility studies: A guidebook
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
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The originating Section of this publication in the IAEA was: Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials Section International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramerstrasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria
STEPS FOR PREPARING URANIUM PRODUCTION FEASIBILITY STUDIES: A GUIDEBOOK IAEA, VIENNA, 1996 IAEA-TECDOC-885 ISSN 1011-4289 © IAEA, 1996
Printed by the IAEA in Austria June 1996
FOREWORD
For over two decades, the IAEA has published a large number of reports dealing with uranium geology, exploration, ore processing and, to a lesser extent, also with mining. Almost all of these re