Uranium export deal sparks talk of opportunities for Broken Hill

The outback mining city of Broken Hill is well known for its silver, lead and zinc.It hosts one of the world's largest ore bodies, after all. The city is not known for its uranium, but a recent agreement to supply India for its nuclear energy industry has some questioning whether there could be hidden opportunity in the city.The Minerals Council of Australia says the prospectivity for uranium around Broken Hill is strong.But with a ban on uranium mining in New South Wales, and no identified ore bodies in the state, extraction could be a pipe dream.The start of another mining boom?When Jim Hickey first moved to Broken Hill in the 1970s, the mining city had a population of about 28,000.Now, Cr Hickey is the deputy mayor and he has seen the city shrink to about 17,500 people.Broken Hill has a rich mining history. (ABC News: Bill Ormonde)The Broken Hill City Council is expecting an increase in population with the looming commencement of major mining and renewable projects, but Cr Hickey sees uranium as a chance to bring about another mining boom for the city."If the [uranium] ban was lifted … mining companies would come in and stake some claims," Cr Hickey said."They would know now exactly what the exploration has shown and where it would be."This would be another string to our bow and keep Broken Hill well and surely alive and increase our population back to a good-sized city again."With the export deal with India freshly signed, Cr Hickey said he believed pressure would start mounting on the NSW government to repeal the prohibition on mining uranium.A bill to do just that has passed NSW parliament's upper house, but that is as far as it is likely to go given longstanding opposition by the Labor party.NSW Resources Minister Courtney Houssos told the Legislative Council in February that Labor's position would not change.She also said that while exploration for uranium was allowed, "there has been very little interest in uranium exploration in this state, and no licences have been granted".Jim Hickey would like to see a ban on uranium mining lifted in NSW. (ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde)Cr Hickey is urging the government to reconsider, particularly in light of the economic opportunities."We pay a lot of royalties now and we'd be increasing our royalties to the government … [and] they need every cent they can get."I think it'd be very profitable to them."Broken Hill Labor Party branch president and local councillor Blake Edgecumbe said he did not doubt there would be an economic boom should a ban be lifted, but believed it would need to be weighed on balance with environmental concerns."I'm sure there'd be a lot of discussions happening, state and federally," Cr Edgecumbe said."I know certain political parties and certain people of certain persuasions would be pushing for the affirmative, but I think it's important that we look at environmental impacts as well as economics."Economic opportunityThe Minerals Council of Australia would like to see NSW, Western Australia and Queensland collectively repeal prohibitions on uranium mining.CEO Tania Constable said even if all three of Australia's operating uranium mines were to expand, it would still not be enough to meet India's ambitious uranium targets."India is going to require around about 23,000 tonnes of uranium each year to get their 100 gigawatts of nuclear energy," Ms Constable said."That would almost double what we're currently producing, and they're going to still need so much more."If we get mines going in Western Australia, if we see more opportunities in South Australia or the Northern Territory, and indeed if prohibitions are lifted in NSW, there is real opportunity for our industry."Tania Constable would like to see bans on uranium mining in NSW, WA and Queensland lifted. (ABC News: Phil Hemingway)There is a growing demand for uranium globally as countries chase net-zero emissions targets, and Australia is a significant resource.It is the world's fourth-largest uranium producer but holds almost a third of the world's total resources."There's plenty of opportunity to move the needs of the nuclear energy industry across the world, for India, for the United States, for France, for other countries that are looking to decarbonise their economies," Ms Constable said.She also supports exploring uranium opportunities around Broken Hill."It's unlikely to be the deposit itself, but [Broken Hill] does have prospectivity given the location that it is in."Not the frontline for uraniumEmeritus Professor and Hancock Prospecting executive director Ian Plimer said he expected any battle to repeal a uranium ban would take place outside of NSW."[It would be] in Western Australia and Queensland, both of which have got identified uranium deposits," Professor Plimer said.While he agreed there was prospectivity around the outback city, he said it would not draw focus for governments and mining companies.Uranium is often referred to as "yellow cake" because of its colour. (Reuters: Mariana Bazo)"My geological reasoning would be that you would go west, you would actually deal with the material that has leached off a great pile of Broken Hill rocks and ended up in the Frome Basin."That's where you would have the traces of uranium that are found in Broken Hill, concentrated in salt lakes."But where Broken Hill could reap some rewards is through an expansion of the Honeymoon Uranium Mine, 80 kilometres away in South Australia, which is supported by a workforce in Broken Hill."[The community would benefit] in terms of infrastructure, in terms of employment," he said.