CHAMWE KAIRA
Deep Yellow, the Australian company that is developing the Tumas uranium project told investors in a recent project update that Eastern European countries are embracing nuclear as ‘no other option, thereby improving the outlook of the uranium price on the international market.
The company said the other factors that will increase the prices are the French company, Orano leaving Niger and the US Senate approving the bill to ban Russian uranium imports.
Deep Yellow has also stated that windfarms are proving uneconomic with government auctions failing to attract investment. It gave an example of Europe’s largest onshore wind farm Markbygden ETT, which is facing bankruptcy.
Other statistics provided in the update are that the International Atomic Energy Agency has said there will be 12 new nuclear countries within a few years. TradeTech forecasts 5.5 new reactor builds per year outside China from 2025-2040. France is accelerating construction of 14 new generation reactors.
At the UN’s COP28 climate change conference, 22 countries signed up to the goal of tripling global nuclear energy capacity by 2050, as the only means of achieving stated emission targets, Deep Yellow noted.
Deep Yellow said the current forecast uranium requirement by late 2030s will be about 280 million pounds to 320 million pounds compared to the 2023 global production of 150 million pounds.
The Tumas project has been granted a 20-year mining licence granted, effective September 2023. This has allowed the project to progress towards production, which will establish Tumas as the 4th uranium mine in Namibia. The projects ore reserves are estimated at 67.3 million pounds.
According to Deep Yellow, Namibia has excellent infrastructure with the port of Walvis Bay located 80 km from the Tumas site. The Walvis Bay International Airport is located 75 km from site. The roads to the project are also in good condition.
The Tumas project is connected to the Namibian grid through a purpose-built dedicated 45 km 132 kV power line, which is supplemented by a 20 MW solar farm installed and operated by a third party under an independent power producer arrangement. Water will be supplied through the Namwater pipeline.
The company also stated in the update that during construction, infrastructure for the mining fleet will be provided by mining contractor.
Deep Yellow is in a strong financial position with A$265M cash to confidently develop Tumas and pursue growth strategy, the company said.
It added that uranium market backdrop creates exceptional opportunities in the post Fukushima supply reconstruction era and taking advantage of a bifurcated market.
“Experienced Board and proven leadership supported by executive and technical teams strong in all operational, financial and governance domains makes us to be on a pathway to becoming a leading, reliable and long-term uranium producer, able to provide production optionality and security of supply with geographic diversity.”
