JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Australia-based uranium producer Paladin Energy on Thursday reported that it had missed its 2009 production forecast of three-million pounds, but maintained its 2010 guidance of 6,6-million pounds.

The ASX- and TSX-listed company boosted output by 60% to 2,73-million pounds, but missed its full-year forecast by about 262 000 lbs due to “teething problems” and longer-than-expected commissioning start-up issues, which had caused a two-month delay in its production schedule.

However, Paladin said that its Langer Heinrich mine in Nambia, and its  Kayelekera project in Malawi were both “essentially” back on schedule, stating that it was confident that it could more than double output in the next financial year.

The company said that commercial production at its 85%-owned Kayelekera uranium project, in Malawi, would be achieved in the September quarter.

First production from the project would also be shipped out towards the end of the September quarter.

The 3,3-million pounds a year Kayelekera project started final commissioning and ramp-up during the June quarter, and was officially opened in April.

The mine would become the country's top foreign currency earner in the coming years, Malawi President Bingu Wa Mutharika said at the official launch of the mine.

The commissioning of the uranium process circuits was ongoing, and production ramp-up has started with the plant initially operating at an intermittent mode during this phase. Paladin stated that it anticipated that the plant would achieve between 60% and 70% design capacity during the September quarter.

Paladin reported that during the quarter, the plant operated under a stop-start philosophy to complete final commissioning, including outstanding tie-ins and modification. The length of the operating period was being gradually extended as work was completed and ramp-up bottlenecks were identified and resolved.

Paladin noted that although the Kayelekera project was still very much in its commissioning and ramp-up phase, it had produced 34 600 lbs of uranium during the June quarter.

Meanwhile, the Langer Heinrich Stage 2 construction, in Namibia, was 95% completed, and the project was expected to reach its new nameplate capacity of 3,7-million tons of uranium a year, during the September quarter.

Commissioning of the Stage 2 expansion project began during the June quarter, and the complete slurry leaching circuit was commissioned at the end of June, which was expected to quickly bring the Stage 2 anticipated production levels into line.

In July, the second leach circuit was placed online, which immediately resulted in a “step change” in production capacity, Paladin reported.

During the quarter, the Paladin board also approved the expansion of the Langer Heinrich mine through the Stage 3 development, but announced that production would only increase to around 5,2-million pounds a year, instead of the original plan of six-million pounds a year.

Although the Stage 3 annual production was now scheduled for 5,2-million pound of uranium a year, the company was confident that water availability would improve by the end of 2011, thereby allowing for further expansion possibilities.

The targeted completion date for Stage 3 was September 2010.

GLOBAL MARKET

Meanwhile, Paladin reported that global uranium output had increased by only 6,5% in 2008, compared with 2007, despite the continuing favourable environment for nuclear power world-wide and the long-term uranium prices remaining at historically high levels.

Production in the two leading uranium countries, namely Canada and Australia, actually fell by 775 t. However, Kazakhstan production rose by 28%, edging Australia into a third place ranking, and highlighting the increasing dependence of the nuclear power industry on nontraditional supply sources.

Paladin added that uranium production in Namibia had increased by 52%, making the country the fourth-largest producer, and drawing attention to Africa as a growing uranium supply source. This was in large part as a result of Paladin’s success at Langer Heinrich, and more recently, Kayelekera in Malawi, the company stated.

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