CHAMWE KAIRA
Bannerman Energy Ltd, the mining company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and the Namibia Stock Exchange, has announced significant recent progress in the construction at its Etango uranium project in the Erongo Region.
Bannerman said the key outcomes include key bulk earthworks and construction power contracts on schedule, with the first blast completed on the primary crusher site.
The company said the construction of the water supply and ancillary storage dam was completed, delivering seamless continuity for bulk earthworks in progress.
The manufacture of high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) tertiary crushers, a critical long lead item, is running ahead of schedule, it added.
Bannerman said detailed engineering on Etango processing facilities (based on certified vendor data) is advancing well.
Commenting on these outcomes, Bannerman Chief Executive Officer Gavin Chamberlain said, “The 12 months since the grant of our Etango Mining Licence in December 2023 has been a period of remarkable advancement, both on- and off-site. I believe the entire Bannerman team can take great pride in the safe, systematic, and long-term-focused manner in which the world-class Etango Project has progressed over that time. I am delighted with the performance of our key contract partners. Their work to date has been undertaken safely and to a very high standard of delivery. Their output has firmly validated our selection of them as our preferred delivery partners for Etango.”
Chamberlain said the company will continue to exercise a gated approach to Etango development, with phased greenlighting of various construction works in line with advancement across broader project work streams and financial capacity.
This has enabled the company to maintain critical path timelines whilst also allowing robust management of execution and market risks.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire Bannerman team, along with our key contract partners and consultants, for their work over 2024 to date. We remain resolutely focused on the safe and efficient delivery of the Etango Project for the remainder of this year, through 2025, and beyond. Etango offers a tremendous opportunity, and we look forward to capturing it fully for the benefit of all our shareholders and broader stakeholders,” said Chamberlain.
The Etango Project is one of the world’s largest undeveloped uranium deposits, located in the Erongo uranium mining region, which hosts the Rössing, Husab and Langer Heinrich mines.
The company has already obtained all necessary environmental and heritage approvals based on environmental baseline monitoring and studies commenced 12 years ago.
The pre-production capital forecast for Etango is US$353 million.
Bannerman believes that developing the world-class Etango Project at an initial 8 million tonnes per annum throughput scale is its core focus. The long-term scalability of the world-class Etango resource remains highly robust under the base case Etango approach to initial project development.
