Mining the Närke Alum Shales: Evaluation of Extraction Methods Suitable for the Närke Alum Shales

Abstract: The alum shales in the Närke deposit indicates an estimated in situ value of over 2 000 000 000 000 SEK The in situ value of the oil content alone is just under 900 SEK per ton. The high value of the deposit enables the use of more costly mining and extraction methods. Using a cut and fill method with road headers and ex situ extraction could be economically feasible, and this method could minimize the environmental impact to a level that would be acceptable. The uranium value is only around 10% of the total uranium + oil value. Every municipality has the right to veto against mining of uranium. Possibilities that can be explored are to only mine the oil from the shale, and regard the uranium as waste. This has never been tried before, and the strategy could be successful.