Name of the Project
Kayelekera uranium restart project.

Location
Karonga district, northern Malawi.

Project Owner/s
Advanced uranium developer Lotus Resources' 85%-owned subsidiary Lotus Africa.

Project Description
Kayelekera successfully produced uranium in the past, having delivered about 11-million pounds of uranium to the market from 2009 to 2014.

An accelerated restart plan completed in October 2024 has promised positive operational and financial outcomes, assuming a long-term uranium price of $90/lb.

Under the plan, the life-of-mine (LoM) production target is estimated at 19.3-million pounds of triuranium octoxide (U₃O₈) over a ten-year mine life. The plan envisages average production of about 2.4-million pounds of triuranium octoxide a year over the life-of-mine.

Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to create about 600 local jobs.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The restart plan promises pretax and after-tax net present value of $439-million and $301-million, respectively, with pretax and after-tax internal rate of return of 80% and 66%, respectively. Payback should be achieved within two years.

Capital Expenditure
50-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Lotus restarted production in August 2025. 

Latest Developments
Lotus has secured the key approvals required to transport its first uranium product through Zambia to Namibia, and through the Port of Walvis Bay to Orano CE's conversion facility, in France.

These include approval from the Malawian Atomic Energy Regulatory Agency; receipt of the Zambian transport licence through the company's logistics partner, Alistair Group; and now the necessary approvals from Namibian authorities, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, the National Radiation Protection Authority and the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy.

The remaining permitting tasks pertain to routine per-shipment notifications, inspections and approvals in the ordinary course of exporting, which, supported by the approvals, are being undertaken. The company is now targeting its first export of uranium ore concentrate ex Walvis Bay for November, with a shipping booking in place. The initial shipment comprising four containers represents about 145 000 lbs of U3O8.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Orelogy Mining Consultants (pit optimisation, mine design and production scheduling ore reserve); Gill Lane Consulting (mineral resource estimate); Merrill Ford Independent Metallurgical Operations (metallurgical/process design); Steinert (ore sorting); Nagrom (metallurgical testwork); Senet (process plant and infrastructure, and cost estimate compilation); SLR Consulting (tailings and water); Mine Technics (openpit); SLR Consulting (plant); InfinityCorp (financial model); Dhamana (community and environment); and Mine Earth (mine closure plan and cost estimate).

Contact Details for Project Information
Lotus Resources, tel +61 89 2000 3427 or email info@lotusresources.com.au.