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Baghalchore

Other Name: Baghalchur; Baghal Chur; Bagalchore
Location: Near Dera Ghazi Khan, Southern Punjab Province
Subordinate To: Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)
Size: Unknown
Facility Status: Mining operations discontinued; site used as low-level radioactive waste dump

In May 1959, the Geological Survey of Pakistan discovered uranium at Baghalchore. Underground and surface mining, along with milling operations, began between 1977 and 1978. [1] After Pakistan purchased additional mining equipment, full-scale mining operations launched in 1980. [2] The uranium grade was approximately 0.05 percent. [3] The Baghalchore mine's resources were reportedly nearly exhausted in 1998, and open source information suggests that the mine had closed by 2000. The site currently appears to be used as a radioactive waste dump. [4]

Sources:
[1] Muhammad Mansoor, "Nuclear Minerals in Pakistan," The Nucleus, 42 (1-2), 2005, pp.73-83.
[2] Zia Mian, A.H. Nayyar, and R. Rajaraman, "Exploring Uranium Resource Constraints on Fissile Material Production in Pakistan," Science and Global Security, 17 (2), 2009, pp. 80-81.
[3] Franz J. Dahlkamp, "Chapter 9: Pakistan," Uranium Deposits of the World (New York: Springer, 2009), www.springer.com.
[4] Global Fissile Material Report 2010, Chapter 10, International Panel on Fissile Materials, December 2010, www.fissilematerials.org.

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This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, or agents. Copyright © 2011 by MIIS.

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