Photo by: Lotus Resources
Name of the Project
Kayelekera uranium restart project.
Location
Karonga district, northern Malawi.
Project Owner/s
Lotus Resources.
Project Description
Kayelekera, currently under care and maintenance, successfully produced uranium in the past, having delivered about 11-million pounds of uranium to the market from 2009 to 2014.
A restart definitive feasibility study (DFS) confirmed Kayelekera as one of the lowest capital-cost uranium projects worldwide while having the ability to quickly restart production once a final investment decision has been made.
The DFS is based on an ore reserve estimate of 15.9-million tonnes at 660 parts per million uranium for 23-million pounds of uranium.
Average production is estimated at 2.4-million pounds of uranium a year over a 9.5-year life-of-mine (LoM). The LoM includes four years of stockpile treatment.
Potential Job Creation
More than 600 jobs will be created for the local community.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.
Capital Expenditure
$88-million.
Planned Start/End Date
Fourth quarter of 2025.
Latest Developments
Lotus Resources has appointed debt adviser Orimco to arrange debt for the project.
Orimco was chosen because of its demonstrated record, knowledge and experience in arranging debt for resource projects in Africa and globally.
Lotus is seeking cost-effective debt to help fund the restart at Kayelekera. It will require an additional $40-million to $50-million in additional funding for preproduction costs and working capital, depending on uranium product payment terms.
Meanwhile, the Kayelekera front-end engineering design (FEED) programme is accelerating.
A recently completed $30-million share placement has allowed for the rapid ramp-up of the planned FEED programme, which encompasses all aspects of detailed design to prepare Kayelekera for execution.
Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Orelogy Mining Consultants (pit optimisation, mine design and production scheduling ore reserve); Gill lane Consulting (mineral resource estimate); Merrill Ford Independent Metallurgical Operations (metallurgical/process design); Steinert (ore sorting); Nagrom (metallurgical testwork); Senet (process plant and infrastructure, and cost estimate compilation); SLR Consulting (tailings and water); Mine Technics (openpit); SLR Consulting (plant); InfinityCorp (financial model); Dhamana (community and environment); and Mine Earth (mine closure plan and cost estimate).
Contact Details for Project Information
Lotus Resources, tel +61 89 2000 3427 or email info@lotusresources.com.au.