Name of the Project
Etango-8 uranium project.
Location
Erongo region of Namibia.
Project Owner/s
Bannerman Energy, through its 95%-owned subsidiary Bannerman Mining Resources.
Project Description
Etango-8 has declared maiden ore reserves of 117.6 -million tonnes at 232 parts per million of uranium for 60.3-million pounds of uranium.
A prefeasibility study (PFS) has confirmed the strong technical and economic viability of conventional openpit mining and heap-leach processing of the Etango deposit at an eight-million-tonne-a-year throughput.
Planned development of the Etango project entails bulk openpit mining of a large, relatively homogenous uranium deposit followed by crushing, acid heap leaching, ion exchange with nano filtration, and uranium recovery into yellowcake product.
The PFS estimates the production of 52.9-million pounds of uranium over the project’s 15-year mine life, with average production estimated at 3.5-million pounds a year of uranium.
Further upside potential exists from future life extension and/or scale-up expansion.
Potential Job Creation
Not stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $222-million and an internal rate of return of 20.3%, with a payback of 3.8 years.
Capital Expenditure
Forecast preproduction capital expenditure is estimated at $274-million.
Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.
Latest Developments
Bannerman Energy will raise A$40.7-million in a single tranche share placement to fund the completion of the Etango-8 definitive feasibility study (DFS) and front-end engineering design (FEED) on the project.
Bannerman said in March that it would place 185-million shares, at 22c each, to institutional and sophisticated investors, under the company’s existing placement capacity.
The offer is a 17% discount to Bannerman’s last closing price on March 22, and an 11.3% discount to the company’s five-day volume weighted average share price.
In addition to the share placement, the company will also launch a share purchase plan (SPP) to raise a further A$5-million. The SPP will allow for shareholders to subscribe for up to A$30 000 of additional shares, also at 22c each.
The SPP will open on April 4 and close on April 19.
“Proceeds from this equity raising will enable us to complete the Etango-8 DFS and proceed directly to FEED and detailed design works for the Etango-8 mine. Our ability to quickly commit to these FEED works delivers us maximum project advancement flexibility and provides greater assurance for potential offtake parties, financiers and investors,” Bannerman MD and CEO Brandon Munro has said.
Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Wood (process plant design and related infrastructure, plant capital and operating cost estimates); and Qubeka Mining Consultants (pit inventory, mine planning and mining cost estimates).
Contact Details for Project Information
Bannerman Energy, tel +61 8 9381 143 or email info@bannermanenergy.com.