BRATISLAVA, January 3, (WEBNOVINY) — Uranium mining in Slovakia is not an issue for now, says Slovak Minister of Economy Juraj M Miskov. He told SITA news agency that extraction of uranium is not planned in the near future here. “As far as I know, only some geological surveying is currently going on. In the near future no uranium mining is considered in Slovakia,” he specified.
Tournigan Energy, which finances the geological survey of uranium deposits in Slovakia via its subsidiary Ludovika Energy maintains that the uranium deposit in Kuriskova near Kosice in eastern Slovakia belongs among the biggest in the world. In this locality the company located reserves of 5.1 million tons of ore with uranium content of 0.2-0.4 percent. On these values it is possible to extract 14,600 tons of uranium, said the company. The Kuriskova deposit belongs to the best currently explored deposits worldwide by content of uranium in the ore, informed the company after it completed additional geological surveys. According to a preliminary economic estimate, the company proposes a model of deep extraction of 273,000 tons of ore annually. Capital costs of the projects are estimated at USD 156 million on return within 5.3 years.
Tournigan Energy Ltd controls via its subsidiary several geological surveying areas in eastern Slovakia. Currently no company in Slovakia has a permit for uranium extraction. The Economy Ministry says that prospective uranium deposits are also in the district of Spisska Nova Ves.
SITA