Peninsula Energy, the project owner of the Lance uranium mine in Wyoming, has appointed US-based engineering, procurement and construction services group Samuel as the contractor for the plant expansion of the Ross central processing plant (CPP) at the mine site.

The Ross facility, initially constructed in 2015 as an alkaline in-situ recovery (ISR) satellite facility, is undergoing an expansion to increase its production capacity from one-million pounds a year to two-million pounds a year.  In addition, the expansion aims to add the capability to produce a finished dry yellowcake product, uranium oxide.

Samuel has been tasked with constructing the necessary facilities for the expansion.

The decision to expand the Ross plant is a crucial step in Peninsula’s preparations to restart production at the Lance mine. The company recently completed construction activities to transform the original satellite plant for operation using low-pH ISR processes, and the Ross plant expansion is integral to this.

Samuel, which was previously contracted for detailed engineering and initial long lead time equipment procurement works at Lance, is already familiar with the project requirements. Its proposal anticipates that the CPP facility and capability expansion will be ready for commissioning by late 2024.

However, Samuel’s budgetary pricing estimate for the CPP expansion indicates a higher-than-forecast estimate. The updated capital estimate suggests an additional $20-million requirement. However, Peninsula says the funding requirement has not significantly risen from the $95-million figure derived from the August 2023 life-of-mine study, mainly owing to improved sales revenue projections driven by the uptick in uranium market prices.

Peninsula states that it is pursuing non-equity funding opportunities to meet the project’s funding requirements, including applying for a US government-funded loan programme and exploring non-bank lending avenues through its appointed debt-adviser BurnVoir.

The ASX-listed company has expressed its commitment to resume production at Lance in late 2024.

The Lance project holds a Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource of 53.7-million pounds of uranium oxide, making it one of the largest uranium production development projects in the US.