CHAMWE KAIRA
The Langer Heinrich Mine produced 745 484 pounds of uranium oxide during the quarter ending 31 March, a 17% increase on the previous quarter’s production, totalling over two million pounds’ production for the financial year to date.
The mine is owned by Paladin Energy. Paladin Energy CEO Ian Purdy said the one-in-fifty-year rainfall event at the mine and surrounding areas in March caused the suspension of operations, saturation of the stockpiles and impacts on the processing plant chemistry.
Additionally, flooding in the pit identified for early commencement of mining, along with delays in the delivery and mobilisation of mining equipment, caused disruptions to the start of the planned mining ramp-up.
Local access roads and civil infrastructure were also damaged by the widespread rainfall.
However, there was no significant damage to the processing plant, and operations have now safely resumed.
DDespite these interruptions, Purdy reported that Paladin achieved the highest quarterly production volumes since the mine’s restart during the quarter.
He said the focus at Langer Heinrich during the quarter has been on optimising the feed blend and increasing throughput.
An average plant recovery rate of 88% was achieved.
The stockpile remains the primary ore source for the crusher feed, he said.
He added that NamWater average inflows were received at contract levels during the quarter, and rainwater flows were captured for use to supplement process water within the operations.
Sales of 872 435 pounds of uranium oxide exceeded production of 745 484 pounds during the quarter due to the timing of deliveries under our contract portfolio. Paladin achieved an average realised price of US$69.9 per pound for the quarter.
Paladin said it now has 12 offtake contracts with tier-one global customers in its offtake contract book, with 22.3 million pounds contracted to 2030.
The company said it met all delivery obligations in the quarter. Namibia is regarded as one of the world’s premier uranium mining jurisdictions.
The mine recommenced commercial production in March 2024, following an extensive refurbishment program, with the first shipments of U3O8 at the start of the 2025 financial year.
The mine is a proven, low-risk, conventional alkaline leach processing circuit and is currently processing medium-grade stockpiled ore while transitioning to open-pit mining and blending of stockpiles with the mined ore.
“While we saw global economic uncertainty and market turbulence from United States tariffs increase at the end of the quarter, we have not seen any direct impact on Paladin’s operations or sales from the United States presidential decisions at this time,” said Purdy.
