On his tour of the main mining projects in the south of the Republic of Mongolia, Sükhbaataryn Batbold, prime minister, stopped at AREVA's exploration site at Dulaan Uul on August 25th, 2010.
During his visit, the teams presented the Group's mining activities in the region as well as the progress being made in environmental and social projects. The delegation made up of ministers, parliament members and governors also got a look at the In Situ Recovery (ISR)* technology that the Group will begin testing in October 2010.
The meeting with Mongolian officials at the site gave the AREVA teams a chance not only to explain the project's technical aspects, but also to provide additional information on several subjects related to the future mining operations such as the identified resources, the calendar for starting exploitation of the mine and the training program for local populations. The members of this high-level delegation came away from their visit reassured of the careful attention AREVA is paying to the project's industrial and social aspects.
"We greatly appreciate your efforts to explain your activities to the local populations and how you are cooperating with them," stated the prime minister. Mr. Batsuuri, deputy from the Province of Dornogobi, declared that "the delegation was very satisfied with how the project was advancing and that it would continue to give AREVA its support".
"Developping an uranium deposit in a sedimentary basin is a tricky process requiring a lot of technical know-how. We are doing everything possible to move forward as rapidly as we can, as shown by the upcoming launch of the ISR pilot test, which will run from 2010 through 2011," explained Eric De Sèze, head of AREVA Mongol and Cogegobi.
* In-situ recovery (ISR) – Mining method where the ore is dissolved by injecting chemical solutions through wells and then extracted by pumping.