Resource
Uranium (U3O8)
Location
Approximately 115 km northeast of Leigh Creek, adjacent to the Beverley and Beverley North Uranium Mine, 550 km north of Adelaide, east of the northern Flinders Ranges.
Company and tenement information
- Quaser Resources Pty Ltd
- Mining lease (ML) 6402
Information about Four Mile Uranium Mine tenements is available via the South Australian Resources Information Gateway (SARIG)
Mining operation and status
- Current status - operating.
- In situ recovery (ISR) - the ore is in an underground aquifer and oxygen and a weak acid mining solution is pumped through the ore body to dissolve the uranium minerals.
- The dissolved uranium is then pumped to the surface, loaded onto resin at the Beverley North Pannikan plant then transferred to the Beverley Processing Plant for further processing via the ion exchange (IX) process, dried and packaged for export.
The deposit
- On the western boundary of the Callabonna sub-basin
- Ground surface consists of about 15 m of gravels of the Tertiary Willawortina formation, overlying sands of Tertiary Upper Eyre Formation
- Mineralisation occurs within the Tertiary Lower Eyre Formation at a depth ranging from 150 m to 200 m and averaging 180 m
Resource estimates and production estimates
Company released resource estimates and production statistics for South Australia's major operating and approved mines are summarised in South Australia's major operating/approved mines: resources estimates and production statistics (PDF, updated regularly).
Approval process
The program for environment protection and rehabilitation (PEPR) submitted December 2016 has been approved.
Documents and reports
Program for environment protection and rehabilitation (PEPR)
- Four Mile Uranium Mine Program for Environment Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR) and Appendices 2023 (PDF 32 MB)
Mining compliance report
Mining lease proposal
- Four Mile Project Public Environment Report and Mining Lease Proposal (released January 2009)
- Appendices A: DEWHA/PIRSA Guidelines
- Appendices B: Soil Survey Report
- Appendices C1: Hydrology Report –Four Mile Creek
- Appendices C2: Hydrology Report –Paralana and Mulga Creeks
- Appendices D: Seismicity Report
- Appendices E: Baseline Vegetation Report
- Appendices F: Annual Vegetation Monitoring Report 2007
- Appendices G: Baseline Fauna Report
- Appendices H: Conceptual Hydrogeological Model Report
- Appendices I: Aquifer Testing of the Four Mile East Ore Zone
- Appendices J: Groundwater Hydrogeochemical Data
- Appendices K: Third Party Groundwater Users Survey
- Appendices L: Flow and Solute Transport Modelling Report
- Appendices M: Natural Attenuation Geochemical Modelling Report
- Appendices N: Cores Attenuation Characteristics Report
- Appendices O: Laboratory Batch Tests Attenuation Report
Uranium incident reports
South Australia’s uranium mines and processing facilities are required to report incidents involving the unplanned release of radioactive process materials, radioactive liquids or radioactive wastes associated with the physical and chemical processing of uranium ores, following standard criteria and procedures
More information
For more information about this mining operation contact DEM.MiningRegRehab@sa.gov.au
