Manyingee is 80 kms from the town of Onslow on the central west coast of WA. Discovered in 1974, the deposit is located in an old dry bed of the Ashburton River.

This deposit is thought to contain about 8000 tonnes of uranium (7.9Mt @ 0.102%). An in-situ leach mine is proposed. Paladin Resources is currently negotiating exploration rights with Traditional Owners.

Trial mining took place in the 1980s. Anti-uranium activists who visited the mine photographed reported large piles of waste with virtually no protection for the public and wildlife. Technical problems with the pilot plant forced Total Mining Australia to abandon development of the site in 1985. The World Nuclear Organisation puts a different view: “Two pumping tests and one five-spot in situ leaching test have been run to evaluate whether the ore is amenable to in situ leaching and whether the leach solutions can be confined. Subsequent monitoring confirmed that there was no environmental contamination from these tests. Development was suspended due to federal Labor Government policy on uranium. ”

NGOs were asking in 1986 where the one and a half tonnes of uranium produced at Manyingee had been sent (probably Ranger) and where the groundwater monitoring records were to be found (if indeed they were kept at all).

According to investigators at Manyingee in 1986, assay workers for Minatome in 1980/81 had been issued with wire brushes and instructed to erase any Aboriginal paintings in the area.

Update:

Paladin looks to save $US60m

Nick Sas, The West Australian, 8 November 2012

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/wa/15327757/paladin-looks-to-save-us60m/

As shares in Perth-based Paladin Energy hit seven-year lows yesterday, managing director John Borshoff hit the brakes on its expansion strategy, saying the miner’s current uranium sale price would have to almost double before new developments could come online. … Paladin has two early-stage projects in WA – the Manyingee project, 85km east of Onslow and the Oobagooma project 75km north-east of Derby, and Mr Borshoff flagged a slowing in its exploration programs. He said that the company had enough cash to meet spending requirements on its Valhalla deposit in Queensland, following the Newman Government’s decision to lift its uranium mining ban last month, which opened the door for its early-stage Mt Isa project.

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