Name of the Project
Langer Heinrich uranium restart project.

Location
Namib Desert, in Namibia.

Project Owner/s
Langer Heinrich Mauritius Holdings is the holding company of Langer Heinrich Uranium, which holds 100% of the Langer Heinrich tenements.

Paladin Energy owns 75% of Langer Heinrich Mauritius Holdings, with 25% owned by CNNC Overseas Uranium Holdings.

Project Description
The project has total proven and probable reserves of 85.9-million tonnes grading 455 parts per million (ppm) of uranium for 86.5-million pounds of uranium.

The project has a declared maiden vanadium mineral resource of 122.1-million tonnes grading 145 ppm vanadium pentoxide for 38.8-million pounds of vanadium pentoxide.

Langer Heinrich was placed on care and maintenance in August 2018, owing to the sustained uranium price.

Subsequently, Paladin completed a concept study in February 2019, which identified multiple options to reduce operating costs, improve process plant performance and potentially recover a saleable vanadium product. A two-stream prefeasibility study (PFS1 and PFS2) started in March 2019 to improve the details of the restart plan and pursue further improvement options to clearly present a compelling investment case.

PFS1 focused on confirming effective care and maintenance plans, practices and costs while developing a more detailed plan to execute a rapid restart at Langer Heinrich in an improved uranium market.

Estimated life-of-mine production is 77.4-million pounds over the 17-year mine life.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Estimated capital expenditure of $81-million has been confirmed for the restart of the project. A further $30-million would be required to take production to 6.5-million pounds a year of uranium.

Planned Start/End Date
The execution time for the restart project is 18 months from project start to first production, with full production achieved after a further 15 months.

Latest Developments
Paladin Energy has confirmed the restart cost estimates for its Langer Heinrich mine to be $81-million.

Paladin has reported that, since the release of the updated restart plan in June 2020, the company continued with an extensive workstream to further derisk restart activities at the mine.

The company continues to engage with global nuclear energy utilities to secure uranium offtake contracts with sufficient duration and value to underpin the restart of the Langer Heinrich operation.

Meanwhile, concept studies are under way for potential value enhancement opportunities, including vanadium recovery and sales, an increased low-grade stockpile phased production rate, the application of ore-sorting technology, mine life extension through lower cutoff grade resource processing, resource expansion, further cost optimisation and recovery improvements.

Paladin is also considering an optimised project execution plan to explore the possibility of self-funding early works in 2022 and fast-track first production when a decision to restart is made. 

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Paladin Energy, tel +61 8 9381 4366 or email paladin@paladinenergy.com.au.