Toro Energy's Greg Hall Upbeat On Local Role Developing New Uranium Supplies

Published on Friday Sept 17 2010

Adelaide-based uranium miner says Australia will play a key role in meeting a global shortfall in uranium supplies.

With uranium emerging as a worldwide energy solution, Australia will play its part through expanding existing mines and discovering and developing new deposits, Toro Energy Ltd says.

Managing director Greg Hall told the World Nuclear Association in London that while $US3 billion ($A3.2 billion) and been spent globally on uranium exploration since 2003, new discoveries had been limited.

"There have been some new, globally significant discoveries and there will be a few more, somewhere we believe in the order of five new globally significant uranium discoveries are likely between 2003 and 2020, Mr Hall said.

"However, it will be on average between eight to 15 years before any of these opportunities move from discovery to stable production."

While that presented opportunities for Australia, Mr Hall said local producers could miss out on global opportunities unless new projects were brought on through the approval and feasibility process amid the right pricing environment.

With high prices Australia could be producing 7000 tonnes of additional uranium oxide by 2015, rising to an additional 14,000 tonnes by 2022, Mr Hall said.

Toro has just completed the trial mining test pit at its Wiluna project in Western Australia with production expected from 2013

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