UNIT: GUh
URANIUM RESOURCES ADDITIONAL TO RESERVES V. RUZICKA
Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
Abstract
Since the establishment of the Uranium Resource Appraisal Group (URAG) at the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources (EMR), the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) has been engaged in periodic, systematic quantitative appraisals of Canadian uranium and thorium resources additional to reserves, i.e. Estimated Additional Resources I (EAR I), Estimated Additional Resources II (EAR II) and Speculative Resources (S), with biennial full, and alternate years interim, reports to URAG.
These appraisals, conducted by the GSC Mineral Resource Appraisal Secretariat (MRAS), include: (a) geological analyses of exploration activities in Canada conducted by industry; (b) assessments of uranium and thorium resources of uranium-bearing domains; and (c) estimates of resources, additional to reserves, in identified uranium deposits. The appraisals are based upon field, laboratory and office research on uranium occurrences, on studies in close liaison with exploration and mining companies, with provincial professionals, universities, and with other EMR agencies.
The uranium resource appraisals are based on continuing studies of mineral deposits and their geological environments, on regional uranium metallogenic studies, and on conceptual genetic models for specific deposit types. The data base consists of delineation and geological definition of metallogenic domains, tonnages and grades of known occurrences, structural and lithological information and data from geophysical and geochemical surveys.
The quantification of the resources is conducted by diverse methods, including geological extrapolation, crustal abundance approach, modified MIMIC (Mining Industry Model for Inventorization and Cost Evaluation) and subjective probability estimations. These qualification methods are described in an Instruction Manual "Methods for the Estimation of Undiscovered Uranium Resources" to be published by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Results of the studies are incorporated in the biennial publication "Uranium in Canada:
Assessment of supply and requirements" (EMR Report EP3), in the Nuclear Energy Agency -Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/IAEA "Red Book" and in "Fact Sheets", distributed by EMR annually to exploration and mining companies operating in Canada. Findings pertaining to regional and local geology and to conceptual models are published in GSC Current Research and IAEA publications, which provide timely information for the professional public.
Introduction
Since the establishment of the Uranium Resource Appraisal Group (URAG) at the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources (EMR) the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) has been engaged in periodic, systematic quantitative appraisals of Canadian uranium and thorium resources additional to reserves, i.e. Estimated Additional Resources I (EAR I), Estimated Additional Resources II (EAR H) and Speculative resources (S), with biennial full, and alternate years interim, reports to URAG. Results of the appraisals are incorporated in EMR's biennial reports EP-3: "Uranium in Canada: Assessment of Supply and Requirements" [1].
Organization of the appraisals
In 1974 the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources (EMR) established a Uranium Resource Appraisal Group (URAG) within EMR to audit regularly Canada's uranium resources [2].
URAG is composed of senior officials of EMR and technical experts in the fields of uranium geology, mining and milling and is chaired by the Director General of the EMR Uranium and Nuclear Energy Branch (UNEB) (see the organizational chart in Fig. 1). Activities of URAG are carried out by three inter-related subcommittees [3]: (i) The subcommittee on Reasonably Assured Resources (RAR); (ii) the subcommittee on Estimated Additional Resources (EAR & S);
and (iii) the subcommittee on Economic Co-ordination (CO-ORD).
The subcommittee on RAR is responsible for auditing measured and indicated resources in Canadian uranium deposits and for assessing levels of Canadian uranium production. The work of this subcommittee is conducted by the Mine Evaluation Group located in the Mining Research Laboratories of EMR1 s Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (CANMET).
The subcommittee on EAR & S is responsible for geological studies of uranium deposits and regions which have geological environments favourable for the occurrence of uranium, for appraisal of inferred, prognosticated and speculative resources of uranium in Canada and for monitoring exploration activity for uranium in Canada. The work of this subcommittee is conducted by the Mineral Resource Appraisal Secretariat (MRAS) of the Mineral Resources Division of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC).
The subcommittee on Economic Co-ordination is responsible for relating known resources to domestic requirements and export commitments and for co-ordination of the overall URAG exercise. The activities of this sub-committee are centred in the Uranium and Nuclear Energy Branch (UNEB) of EMR.
Members of URAG co-operate with Canadian regulatory agencies, such as the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB), with Provincial governments and industry. They use information from other institutions, such as from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)) and from related governmental programs, such as Federal-Provincial Mineral Development Agreements (MDA).
Appraisal Process
Uranium resource appraisals, conducted by the subcommittee on EAR, i.e. by the GSC Mineral Resource Appraisal Secretariat (MRAS), include (Fig. 2): (a) analyses of EMR and AECB records and assessment files submitted by industry, particularly economic geological significance of results of exploration and mining activities, including resource estimates; these records are regularly reviewed (audited) with industry by a URAG Technical Team consisting of members of the URAG subcommittees and provincial representatives; (b) assessments of uranium and thorium resources of uranium-bearing domains, which are based on field, laboratory and literature studies by MRAS members; (c) appraisals of resources, additional to reserves, in identified uranium deposits; these appraisals complement estimates of measured and indicated reserves made by CANMET. In cases, where CANMET estimates of inferred resources, these are either confirmed or modified. A computer-assisted data base contains files for metallogenic domains within the Huronian Supergroup, Athabasca Basin, northwestern part of the Canadian Shield and the remaining parts of Canada.
Concept of the appraisals
A schematic flowchart of the concept is shown in Fig. 3.
The uranium resource appraisals are based on continuing research of mineral deposits and their geological environments, in Canada and worldwide. Special attention is paid to world-class
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Provinces industry
Horizontal Liaison
Figure 1: Organisation of uranium resource appraisals in Canada. Abbreviations: EMR = Department of Energy, Mines and Resources; UNEB = Uranium and Nuclear Energy Branch of EMR; CANADA GovL = Federal Government of Canada; AECB
= Atomic Energy Control Board; URAG = Uranium Resource Appraisal Group;
IAEA-NBA = International Atomic Energy Agency - Nuclear Energy Agency, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development; RAR = Subcommittee on Reasonably Assured Resources of URAG; CANMET = Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology; EAR & S = Subcommittee on Estimated Additional and Speculative Resources of URAG; GSC = Geological Survey of Canada; COORD = Subcommittee on Economic Coordination of URAG; MDA -Federal-Provincial Mineral Development Agreement; NSERC = Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council.
uranium deposits, such as Cigar Lake, Key Lake and Elliot Lake, Canada [4]; Olympic Dam [5]
and deposits in the Pine Creek Geosyncline, Australia; deposits in the Grants district, the United States; Witwatersrand Basin, South Africa; Massif Central, France; Erzgebirge, Czechoslovakia and East Germany; Roessing, Namibia; and in the Arlit district, Niger.
Regional uranium metallogenic studies are conducted in the context with metallogenic studies of other commodities and include at present (1989) the Proterozoic intracratonic basins of the Canadian Shield [4], the Great Bear magmatic zone [6; 7] and the Huronian Supergroup [4].
The data base consists of delineation and geological definition of metallogenic domains, tonnages and grades of known occurrences, structural and lithological information and data from geophysical and geochemical surveys.
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