Western Australia-based uranium producer Paladin Energy has produced 745 484 lb of yellowcake, or triuranium octoxide (U3O8), in the quarter ended March 31, despite weather disruptions at its Langer Heinrich mine, in Namibia.
The quarter’s production increased by 17% compared with the prior quarter after Paladin undertook a planned shutdown in November to implement operational upgrades.
The mine was mothballed in 2018 owing to a low uranium oxide price environment, but Paladin decided to restart production in 2022. The company achieved restarted commercial production in March 2024 and has since progressed with fleet mobilisation, blasting and mined ore feeding to the processing plant.
Notably, the company optimised the feed blend and increased throughput in the quarter under review, having achieved an average plant recovery rate of 88%.
The stockpile remains the primary ore source for the crusher feed while the company advances initial mining activity.
The company sold 872 435 lb of U3O8 in the reporting quarter at an average realised price of $69.90/lb.
Paladin had unrestricted cash and short-term investments of $127-million at the end of March, as well as undrawn debt facilities of $50-million.
Paladin now has 12 offtake contracts with Tier 1 global customers in its offtake contract book, with 22.3-million pounds of U3O8 contracted to 2030.
“Production volumes at the Langer Heinrich mine during the quarter continued to ramp up, with our expectations of additional volumes having been disrupted by significant rainfall across Namibia,” explains CEO Ian Purdy.
The rains led to the suspension of operations, saturation of stockpiles and impacts on the processing plant chemistry. Local access roads and civil infrastructure were also damaged by the widespread rainfall.
As the company implemented a recovery programme at the site, management identified a new pit area to advance the mine programme following the flooding of the location originally earmarked as the site for initial mining, Purdy adds.
The Langer Heinrich production was also at its highest level since March 2024 in the reporting quarter despite the rainfall disruptions.
Meanwhile, Paladin has been granted an exemption by the Canadian government related to a non-resident ownership policy for the Patterson Lake South (PLS) project in Saskatchewan, Canada, after Paladin acquired Fission Uranium Corporation in December 2024.
The company also signed mutual benefits agreements with two First Nations acknowledging that the development of PLS can deliver shared economic and social benefits to the local community.
Paladin is now progressing exploration activity on site at PLS, as well as various exploration projects in Queensland and Western Australia.
Paladin remains focused on advancing a multi-decade uranium production pipeline to supply the global nuclear industry.