LIMOUSIN

JOUAC (LE BERNARDAN, MAILHAC)--Shut Down

Purpose: production of uranium
Type: mines and mill for the treatment of ore
Location: Jouac (Haute-Vienne) 65 km to the north of Limoges, in the Mailhac-sur-Benaize concession
Operator: Société des mines de Jouac (SM J). The site formerly belonged to TCM and Dong-Trieu
Period of operation: 1978-2001
Raw materials: uranium ore
Nominal capacity: mill, 500 t/yr of uranium
Actual production: mine, about 8000 t/yr of ore; plant, between 80 and 500 t/yr of uranium

SURFACE MINE OF BERNARDAN—shut down

Operated from 1978 to 1987, the mine produced ore containing 1900 t of uranium. The mine occupies a surface above ground of 6.9 ha; its maximum depth is 115 m.

UNDERGROUND MINE OF BERNARDAN

Operated from 1986 to May 2001, the mine at a depth of more than 400m, produced ore containing 6100 t of uranium. The vein was exploited at an average rhythm of 70,000 t of ore per year, with 0.5 to 0.7% uranium.

MILL FOR TREATING ORE

Operated from 1979-2001, the plant received the ore from the Jouac mine and ore from other mines in Cogéma's mining division of La Crouzille. Furthermore, the mill treated uranium that arrived in containers from Bertholène and then treated sludges from water treatment at Bertholène (Aveyron). Experimental installations for leaching were located at the site from 1978 to 1987. Between 1979 and 1995, 1,347,601 t of ore containing 6,373 t of uranium were treated [Cogéma 95]. The mine and the mill produced 439 t of uranium in 1999 [CogRa 99] and on the order of 340 t in 2000.

WASTES

They are stored in four cells constituted by a cordon of waste rock: (in 2001: 709,000 t of tailings and, from Bertholéne, sludges (0.10TBq radium); 41,000 t of residues from leaching; and sludge from the Jouac water treatment station. To the tailings have been added 835 kg of thorium imported from the Sepa hangar at Bessines when it was emptied. Sepa had received the thorium from Le Bouchet.  The site is classed as an ICPE although it should be an INB according to the regulations [InfoU iii-iv.92]. 

CLOSURE

According to Areva, the site was remediated and closed in 2002.

--revised December 10, 2008

Copyright © 2001-2007 Yggdrasil; Copyright © 2008 EcoPerspectives

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