PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Dual listed uranium miner Paladin Energy has reported a near $70-million drop in sales revenue for the interim period ended December, compared with the previous corresponding period.

The ASX- and TSX-listed miner on Thursday reported that sales revenue for the six months declined to $108.6-million, from $171-million reported over the same period last year.

The decline was ascribed to lower sales volumes, with Paladin selling 3.16-million pounds of uranium oxide (U₃O₈) during the interim period, compared with the 4.44-million pounds U₃O₈ sold a year earlier.

The average realised sales price also declined from the $38.40/lb reported in the previous corresponding period, to $34.35/lb, while average spot prices declined from $35.50/lb to $34.30/lb.

Paladin noted that gross profit for the six months under review reached $3.9-million, which was a turnaround from the $29.3-million loss reported in 2013. The 2013 performance was affected by a $24.9-million impairment charge on the inventory, stores and consumables of the Kayelekera mine, in Malawi, which was placed on care and maintenance in May last year.

The Kayelekera mine remained on care and maintenance, but Paladin said on Thursday that a feasibility study for the restart of production had been started. Preparations have also been completed for water treatment, in order to maintain the site in a secure and safe state during the care-and-maintenance period.

Meanwhile, operations at the Langer Heinrich mine, in Namibia, continued apace, and Paladin told shareholders that the C1 cash cost reduction initiatives were also well under way.

A bicarbonate recovery project was now well advanced, which was expected to reduce the C1 unit cost at Langer Heinrich to below $26/lb, compared with the $30/lb recorded at the end of December. C1 cash costs were expected to come down further to around $22/lb by the 2017 financial year.

For the full year, Paladin said it would produce between 5.2-million and 5.5-million pounds U₃O₈.