Bannerman Energy Ltd has announced the successful completion of a Scoping Study evaluating potential expansion options for its flagship Etango Uranium Project located in Namibia.
This study highlights the robust technical and financial viability of two future phases: Etango-XP, involving an expansion in throughput capacity to 16 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa), and Etango-XT, extending the operating life from 15 to 27 years.
Bannerman is a uranium development business with operations in Australia and Namibia. Its flagship asset, the Etango Uranium Project, is located in the Erongo Region of Namibia. The Company is committed to sustainable development and best-practice governance in all aspects of its business. Bannerman, listed on the Australian and Namibian stock exchanges and traded on the OTCQX Market in the US, holds the advanced Etango Uranium Project as its flagship asset. Etango has benefited from extensive exploration and feasibility activity over the past 15 years, with a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) completed in December 2022 confirming its strong technical and economic viability. The Company has been recognized for its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) leadership in the uranium and nuclear energy sector, receiving the 2023 African Mining Indaba’s ESG Award for Community Engagement.
The Scoping Study, aimed at evaluating future higher throughput and operating life cases for Etango, reinforces Bannerman’s commitment to the timely development of the Etango-8 project. The Company remains focused on advancing Front End Engineering and Design (FEED), offtake marketing, and strategic financing workstreams for the base case 8 Mtpa Etango development.
Key findings from the Scoping Study highlight the potential of both Etango-XP and Etango-XT. Under the Etango-XP scenario, with an expanded throughput to 16 Mtpa starting from year 5, the project could yield a significant amount of uranium over 16 years, with a Life of Mine (LOM) U3O8 (uranium oxide) output of 95.2 million pounds (Mlbs). This translates to an annual average output of 6.7 Mlbs of U3O8. The expansion phase capital expenditure for Etango-XP is estimated at US$325M, with a corresponding LOM average operating cost (AISC) of US$42.5 per pound of uranium.
Conversely, the Etango-XT scenario, maintaining a throughput of 8 Mtpa projects a LOM U3O8 output of 95.2 Mlbs over 27 years, with an annual average uranium output of 3.5 Mlbs without requiring additional capital expenditure, with a LOM average AISC of US$45.3 per pound of uranium.
The cost estimates for Etango, which include pre-production capital expenditure of approximately US$320 million, remain relatively stable, while the heightened operating expenditure projections associated with Etango-XP / XT are primarily attributed to increased strip ratios. Moving forward, the feasibility work on Etango-XP and Etango-XT options can be expedited efficiently, leveraging the extensive groundwork already completed during previous DFS-level project evaluations, covering resource drilling, geotechnical, metallurgical, process, and environmental assessments.
Commenting on the results, Bannerman’s Chief Executive Officer, Gavin Chamberlain, emphasized the Company’s commitment to developing the world-class Etango Project at an initial 8 Mtpa throughput scale. He stated, “As evidenced by the announced outcomes, the Scoping Study has categorically demonstrated this further growth optionality. In short, the long-term scalability of the world-class Etango resource remains highly robust under the base case Etango-8 approach to initial project development.”
Bannerman Executive Chairman, Brandon Munro, added, “I am delighted that we have more formally demonstrated the longer-term optionality delivered by our large-scale Etango uranium resource. While the XP and XT cases are readily viable at our base case Etango-8 DFS price assumption of US$65/lb, their economics are clearly supercharged in higher price scenarios. As such, what the Scoping Study emphatically evidences is the significant underlying value residing in Etango’s huge in-ground leverage to, and scalability with, higher uranium price outlooks.”