Uranium mining prospects looking good for Peru’s Macusani district

Not everyone knows this but uranium is actually quite an abundant metal and is found all over the world. Why then isn’t it cheap? As with all things mining related, it comes down to production costs. To be economically viable you generally need a high grade source. That simple fact is the reason that Canada’s Athabasa Basin is the world’s leading uranium district.

However, as with all rules, there are exceptions and it’s looking increasingly likely that Peru’s Macusani District is shaping up to be one of those exceptions. The bulk of the uranium discovered so far in the region (which does not yet have a uranium mine) lies close to the surface. Moreover, recent tests results announced by Macusani Yellowcake suggest that production costs may be low.

They sent out a press release a few days ago in with their president and CEO, Dr. Laurence Stefan, stated: "The recent column leaching tests have returned high recovery rates with very low acid consumption and continue to demonstrate the very favourable metallurgical characteristics of the Macusani uranium mineralization. The results also hint towards low production costs. The excellent uranium extraction results obtained during these tests, which were run under simulated "mine conditions" and combined with the extremely low acid consumption, further support a technical and economic case for a low grade uranium heap leach operation on the Macusani plateau."

As Fission has a large, highly strategic land package in the Macusani region  we’ll obviously be keeping a close eye on how things develop for Macusani Yellowcake. So far I believe things are looking encouraging.

Dev Randhawa