CHAMWE KAIRA
Deep Yellow Limited has announced an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Tumas 1, 1 East, 2 and 3 Deposits located in the Erongo Region of Namibia. The deposit is held by Deep Yellow through its wholly owned subsidiary Reptile Uranium Namibia (Pty) Ltd.
The mineral resource status upgrade is required to enable the definition of sufficient proven mineral reserves for the first six years of operation and to support project financing. The company said the three deposits have mineral resources of 102.1 million pounds, 16.1 million pounds and 118.2 million pounds of uranium oxide.
“A reserve update based on the new mineral resource is currently in progress. This reserve update will be based on the DFS metrics, incorporating the DFS review impact (December 2023) and involve a re-optimisation of the ore reserve estimate in preparation for the expected commencement of mining operations in the pre-production phase of project execution next calendar year,” Deep Yellow said.
The company is confident that the reserve update will extend the operating life of Tumas to over 35 years. The detailed engineering for the project, which is currently underway, will provide a control capital estimate and detailed execution schedule.
Deep Yellow Managing Director, John Borshoff said Tumas is a standout, Tier-1, long-life project and the team continues to tick all the boxes as the company progress with project financing and marketing ahead of a final investment decision (FID) later this year.
“Delivery of the Tumas Mineral Resource upgrade across the areas earmarked for the initial six years of mining highlights the potential of the mineralised system identified at Tumas to deliver quality uranium resources. Remarkably, even with the detailed infill drilling on the Tumas 3 deposit to convert resources from indicated to the more stringent measured category, the quantity and quality of the Tumas 3 resource has remained well within the acceptable range,” said Borshoff.
Deep Yellow Limited is aiming to progress as a dual-pillar growth strategy to establish a globally diversified, Tier-1 uranium company to produce 10 million pounds of uranium oxide per annum. The company’s projects include the flagship Tumas and Mulga Rock in Western Australia.
Namibia produces over 5600 tons of uranium per annum, accounting for about 11% of the world’s total production. Namibia ranks as the third biggest producer in the world, behind Canada and Kazakhstan.
The Bank of Namibia anticipates that growth for uranium mining is expected to slow in this year before improving in 2025. The uranium mining sector is expected grow by 3.6% this year, down from a robust growth of 24.5% in 2023.
Despite increased spot prices, the sector is expected to experience water supply interruptions, resulting in uranium mines adjusting their production downwards, coupled with anticipated stripping activities at some of the mines, the central bank has forecast.
