Quasar Resources and Alliance Resources are operating the Four Mile project as a joint venture and ore is being processed at the nearby Beverley uranium mine site.

Premier Jay Weatherill and Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis have flown to Four Mile, 550 kilometres north of Adelaide in the northern Flinders Ranges, for the official opening.

Mr Koutsantonis says it is an important day for South Australian mining and the local economy, as the mine promises to create 140 jobs.

“The most significant deposit found anywhere in the world in the last 25 years is coming into operation,” he said.

“It has a secure future. I mean the deposits are world-class, the deposits are being brought out in the most environmentally sustainable way. I think it has a long-term life.

“South Australia is cementing its place as the capital of uranium mining in Australia and it’s a good thing for our state, it’s a good thing for our economy and it’s a good thing for jobs.”

Much higher grade ore than Olympic Dam

The Government says the ore deposit is of a much higher grade than at outback Olympic Dam, where BHP Billiton is mining.

It says South Australia has four of Australia’s five active uranium mines, with Four Mile joining Olympic Dam, Beverley and Honeymoon in SA.

The other uranium mine is Ranger in the Northern Territory.

The Government says the uranium will be vital to the nuclear technology which delivers China and India’s energy needs.

The Four Mile project hit a hurdle when there was a legal dispute over native title and mining between the parties.

But an agreement for the area finally was signed.

The deposit at Four Mile was discovered almost a decade ago and the mining lease application made in 2008.