Name of the Project
Honeymoon uranium restart project.

Location
South Australia.

Project Owner/s
Boss Resources.

Project Description
The feasibility study on the Honeymoon project has positioned it as one of the world’s most advanced uranium development projects that can be fast-tracked to restart production in 12 months, with low capital intensity, to seize an anticipated rally in the uranium market.

The feasibility study base case has been limited to the restart area only, which comprises Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resources of 36-million pounds.

The project will be completed in stages.

Stage 1 involves refurbishing the existing solvent-extraction plant, which has a nameplate capacity of 880 000 lb/y uranium equivalent. This involves recommissioning the recently operated plant, inclusive of several key low-cost modifications to rectify the processing issues encountered by the previous owners, Uranium One Australia. In addition, the yellowcake drying facility will be upgraded from the existing dryers to high-temperature kilns producing a calcined uranium product, which has greater market appeal.

Stage 2 is an expansion strategy that will increase production to two-million pounds a year of uranium equivalent and involves the construction of a new ion-exchange circuit. The expansion will also include additional processing infrastructure required to handle increased pregnant leach solution flow rates, and a new water treatment plant to manage increased calcium and sulphate levels in the leach liquors.

Stage 3 is not considered in this base case feasibility study, but is being investigated for ramp-up of production capacity from two-million pounds a year of uranium equivalent to more than three-million pounds a year of uranium equivalent.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a base case pretax net present value of $163-million and an internal rate of return of 42.9%, with after-tax payback (after production starts) of 4.5 years.

Capital Expenditure
The project will require a capital investment of $63.2-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Boss Resources will raise A$15-million in a share placement to fund ongoing technical process optimisation studies and exploration at the Honeymoon project.

The single tranche share placement will comprise about 225-million shares, at 6.7c a share, with Boss having received firm commitments from institutional and sophisticated investors.

The placement price represents a 6.9% discount to Boss’s last closing price on September 28, and a 9.9% discount to its five-day volume weighted average share price.

The shares will be placed under Boss’s existing placement capacity and will not require shareholder approval.

Boss engaged GR Engineering in September to evaluate the replacement of existing solvent extraction columns on the Honeymoon site, and initial results have indicated the potential for this to substantially increase the production profile and reduce operating costs.

These findings will be incorporated into the enhanced feasibility study, scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2021.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Boss Resources, tel +61 8 6143 6730 or email admin@bossresources.com.au.