Possibilities of Uranium Deposit Kuriskova Mining and Its Influence on the Energy Potential of Slovakia from Own Resources

Abstract

Uranium is one of the strategic minerals used mainly in energetics. The main purpose of uranium mining is to achieve maximum production to meet the rapidly growing demand for energies. It needs to become aware that technological progress in mining processes could significantly reduce the negative impacts associated with environmental, economic, and social risks. Uranium mining is one of the most controversial topics. It is dealt with by many experts and scientists around the world. Various methods and technologies of uranium mining are encountered in professional journals, as well as political or socio-economic decisions based on the impact and importance of the energy potential of uranium deposits, or the environmental impacts of uranium mining. The deposit of Kuriskova is one of the most perspective deposits not only in Slovakia but also in the world. The deposit is located near the town of Kosice (with near 240,000 inhabitants) and near the recreational area of Jahodna in the east of the Slovak Republic. The analysis and determination of the energy potential of the deposit of Kuriskova shows that uranium reserves from this deposit would be able to fully cover the needs for nuclear power plants for the production of nuclear fuel, in the Slovak Republic, even in the longer term. With the above-mentioned energy potential of the deposit of Kuriskova at the level of 600 TWh, nuclear power plants in the Slovak Republic are able to be supplied with raw materials from the deposit of Kuriskova for about 40 years with the current amount of electricity produced (approx. 15 TWh). Therefore, for the purposes of this research, a proposal for the extraction of uranium reserves at the deposit of Kuriskova was made. Based on it, it is possible to determine the amount of recoverable uranium reserves from the deposit. A methodology has been determined with mining this proposal, which takes into account the basic criteria of uranium deposit mining, which was used for the selection of a suitable mining technology for the uranium deposit of Kuriskova.