JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Bannerman Resources on Wednesday said the construction of its Etango heap leach demonstration plant, in Namibia, was on track for completion early in 2015.
The activities completed since awarding the contracts in September included the establishment of the site infrastructure, preparation of the foundation and the start of the civil construction of the 6-m-high concrete cribs and the reagent mixing area and the construction of the evaporation pond.
The company had also started the rehabilitation of the areas where the ore and waste rock samples were blasted and hauled from.
“It is anticipated that the first test results will be available during the June 2015 quarter. The timing of the demonstration programme coincides well with the increase in the uranium price,” said Bannerman CEO Len Jubber in a statement.
The uranium spot price increased to a high of $44/lb – a jump from the eight-year low of $28.25/lb reported in early July – before contracting to the recent $38/lb after the final regional authority gave the nod to restart two reactors at the Sendai nuclear power plant, in Japan.
This, Jubber believed, had contributed to the much-anticipated resurgence in interest in the uranium sector and the subsequent surge in pricing.