Where are the uranium deposits in WA – how close to developed areas are they?
Western Australia’s uranium deposits are all located in remote areas well away from populated areas. The first three of the current proposed uranium mines are about 80 – 100km from Wiluna. 2.3 How much will uranium mining be worth to WA and how does that compare to other mineral export income for the State? Like any resource operation, the State Government would receive royalties and the local government would receive shire rates. The royalty is expected to be five per cent of sale value. It is expected that uranium mining in WA will be on a small scale initially, but could bring $34 million dollars to the State by 2014 (based on uranium exports of $675 million – 5000 tonnes per annum and the current spot price of AU$135,000 per tonne). Uranium would initially be towards the bottom of the resources league. Iron Ore and Petroleum are the two most dominant export resources in WA. In 2008, total iron ore sales were $31.30 billion; crude oil and condensate was $13.25 billion and LNG was $7
