AMN - MALAWI: Lotus boosts uranium resource by 31%

Lotus Resources Limited has increased the mineral resource by 31% at the Kayelekera Uranium Project in Malawi. The resource is now 37.5 million pounds of contained U3O8, up from the 28.7 million pound estimate reported on June 24, 2019, with 83% in the measured and indicated categories.

There are 2.3 million tonnes at 830ppm U3O8 for 4.1 million pounds in the measured category and 18.7 million tonnes at 660ppm U3O8 for 27.1 million pounds in the indicated category with the remaining 6.1 million tonnes being inferred.

Lotus completed the acquisition of Kayelekera from Paladin Energy in March 2020.

The mineral resource area is on a granted Mining Licence with processing plant and infrastructure and Lotus has identified multiple exploration targets, which it is assessing.

The increase in Kayelekera’s mineral resources has the potential to positively impact the life of mine.

More than $200 million has been invested in modern plant and infrastructure at Kayelelera, which produced uranium from 2009 to 2014.

The primary driver for the resource increase is the identification and inclusion of a previously unmodelled high-grade basal arkose unit beneath the pit and inclusion of existing Run of Mine and low-grade stockpiles created while Kayelekera was in production. These stockpiles have already been mined and sit near the processing plant.

The updated resource utilised the same modelling techniques as the previous estimate and will form the basis for future mining studies at Kayelekera. These studies will focus on cost improvements of mining and processing, including the potential use of beneficiation and sorting techniques.

The next stage of the Kayelekera project includes an assessment of regional exploration for both uranium and other minerals, and the initiation of a restart study to allow Kayelekera to recommence production when the uranium price has recovered.

www.lotusresources.com.au