[Uranium] Ressources, production et consommation mondiale

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suite de ce post du 05 juillet 2026 : viewtopic.php?p=2425292#p2425292

Uranium : après des revers, l’australien Lotus vise des levées de fonds pour sa mine au Malawi

Agence Ecofin 24 juillet 2026

Près d’un an après sa remise en service au Malawi, la mine d’uranium Kayelekera peine encore à boucler sa montée en puissance. Entre revers opérationnels et techniques, Lotus Resources multiplie les reports dans le calendrier fixé pour l’atteinte du régime de croisière sur le site.

Dans une note publiée jeudi 23 juillet, la compagnie minière australienne Lotus Resources a dévoilé la structure d’un montage financier destiné à soutenir la montée en puissance de sa mine d’uranium Kayelekera, au Malawi. Comprenant notamment une levée de fonds par émission d’actions de 60,1 millions de dollars australiens (41,9 millions USD), ce dispositif intervient après une série de revers opérationnels enregistrés ces derniers mois sur le site, qui ont ralenti la montée en régime de l’exploitation.

Restées suspendues pendant plus d’une décennie, les opérations minières ont repris à Kayelekera en août 2025. Lotus Resources visait alors une montée en puissance rapide, avec l’ambition d’atteindre dès le début de 2026 la capacité nominale de la mine, fixée à 2,4 millions de livres d’uranium par an, soit environ 200 000 livres par mois. Un objectif qui demeure toutefois hors de portée à ce stade, la mine n’ayant par exemple livré que 155 900 livres sur l’ensemble du deuxième trimestre 2026.

Cette montée en régime a été freinée par des difficultés, allant d’un incident enregistré en avril dernier à des problèmes d’approvisionnement en acide sulfurique et au niveau de l’usine d’acide, un intrant indispensable au traitement du minerai d’uranium.

Désormais attendu d’ici fin 2026, cet objectif nécessitera des investissements supplémentaires pour optimiser les performances du site. Outre la levée de fonds par émission d’actions, le dispositif annoncé à cette fin prévoit une émission obligataire de 35 millions de dollars australiens, ainsi qu’une facilité de 30 millions USD garantie par un accord de commercialisation conclu avec le négociant suisse Mercuria. « Le site de Kayelekera est désormais en mesure de franchir les dernières étapes de la montée en puissance jusqu’à atteindre un régime de production nominal, et ce financement parachève l’assainissement du bilan », a déclaré le directeur général de Lotus, Greg Bittar.

Pour la société, l’enjeu dépasse le seul financement. Atteindre la capacité nominale constitue un jalon essentiel pour tout projet minier, puisqu’elle atteste de son fonctionnement au niveau de production retenu dans les études économiques ayant servi à justifier sa rentabilité. Lotus cherche ainsi à réunir les conditions nécessaires pour franchir cette étape et mieux honorer, à terme, ses engagements commerciaux. Cette trajectoire bénéficie d’un environnement de marché plus favorable. Selon Cameco, les prix à terme de l’uranium sont passés d’une moyenne de 89 USD la livre en janvier à 95,5 USD en juin 2026.

Les financements annoncés restent toutefois soumis à plusieurs étapes réglementaires devant s’étaler jusqu’en septembre prochain. Leur concrétisation sera suivie de près au Malawi, où Kayelekera figure parmi les projets appelés à soutenir le développement de l’industrie minière nationale. L’État qui détient 15 % du capital de la mine, doit également percevoir une redevance de 5 % sur les revenus générés par son exploitation.

https://www.agenceecofin.com/actualites ... -au-malawi

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suite de ce post du 20 juillet 2025 : viewtopic.php?p=2414323#p2414323

Laramide sees $741M value for Queensland uranium project

Frederic Tomesco | July 23, 2026

An updated study for Laramide Resources’ (TSX, ASX: LAM)(US-OTC: LMRXF) proposed Westmoreland uranium mine in Australia values the project at about $741 million – almost twice the figure calculated 10 years ago with different assumptions.

Based on a 7.5% discount rate and a long-term uranium price of $90 per lb. U₃O₈, Westmoreland would have a 33% internal rate of return and a payback period of about 2.5 years, Laramide said Wednesday in a statement. Initial capital is pegged at $456 million, plus an $84-million contingency, with sustaining capital of $84 million over the mine life.

Westmoreland is located in Queensland, about 2,000 km northwest of Brisbane.

The new analysis replaces a 2016 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) and incorporates updated engineering, environmental and mine planning, metallurgical design, operating costs and revised uranium market assumptions, Laramide said. That study, which used a 10% discount rate and a uranium price of $65 per lb., valued Westmoreland at $400 million after tax.

“This PEA confirms that Westmoreland remains a compelling development proposition in a sector with limited supply visibility, particularly in the medium and longer term,” Laramide CEO Marc Henderson said in the statement.

“Identifying and supporting new mine development is becoming an increasingly urgent priority, especially given the rapidly increasing demand requirements of a global nuclear energy industry that is once again growing strongly.”

Uranium ban

Although Laramide said it’s prepared to file a mining lease application “as soon as permitted by the Queensland government,” its drive to build Westmoreland must contend with a longstanding ban on uranium mining in the state.

Most Australian states prohibit or effectively prevent uranium mine development. South Australia and the Northern Territory host the country’s operating uranium mines, while nuclear energy is banned nationwide. A bill is currently before the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seeking to overturn the ban on uranium mining.

Laramide’s push may benefit from expanded efforts by India to source uranium. Two weeks ago, Australia signed the final administrative arrangements on a deal to supply the world’s most populous country with uranium for civilian nuclear use. Australia’s uranium reserves could help India meet a target of 100 gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity by 2047.

“While we concur that Australia’s uranium endowment is substantial and applaud the mutual intent that often emerges from these types of high-level political meetings, the reality is that Australia’s relevance as a consequential and reliable uranium supplier is diminishing quickly and will require pro-active actions on the part of national and state political leaders in Australia if the country intends to reverse its shrinking share of what is now an expanding global uranium market,” Henderson added.

Open pit

Westmoreland is now envisioned as an 11-year open-pit operation processing 2.9 million tonnes of ore annually through a conventional mill and leach circuit. Average annual production is estimated at about 4.9 million lb. U₃O₈, with life-of-mine output of 47.9 million lb.

Uranium recovery is projected at 95%, while average cash operating costs are estimated at $32.40 per pound.

Power options assessed include hybrid diesel generation, solar energy and battery storage, Laramide said.

Defined resources

The property holds 27.8 million indicated tonnes grading 770 parts per million (ppm) uranium for 48.1 million contained lb. uranium oxide (U3O8), according to a January 2025 resource. Inferred tonnage totals 11.8 million tonnes at 680 ppm uranium for 17.7 million contained lb. U3O8.

No mineral reserves have yet been declared.

The updated PEA only factors in the defined uranium resources and excludes exploration upside from nearby satellite targets, Laramide said. It also leaves out potential gold or rare earth mineralization identified within the broader district.

Laramide shares dropped 5.7% to 50¢ Thursday morning in Toronto, cutting the company’s market value to about C$142 million ($101 million). The stock has traded between 46¢ and 91¢ in the past year.

https://www.mining.com/laramide-sees-74 ... m-project/

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suite de ce post du 21 juin 2026 : viewtopic.php?p=2424957#p2424957

Construction begins on Canada’s first ISR uranium mine



Published by Markku Björkman - 30 Jul, 2026

Canada has started building a uranium mine that will require neither a large open pit nor conventional underground tunnels. At the Phoenix project in northern Saskatchewan, uranium will be dissolved in the rock and pumped to a processing plant at the surface. A frozen underground barrier will prevent the mining solution from escaping the production area.

Denison Mines has announced that site preparation at the Phoenix uranium mine has been completed and that the project has entered full-scale construction.

The work includes construction of the processing plant, power infrastructure and production wells, as well as installation of an underground freeze wall around the mine’s initial production zone.

Since early works began in March, the site has been cleared, roads and foundations have been prepared, and temporary construction facilities have been established. A new accommodation camp has increased capacity at the Wheeler River property to nearly 400 people.

According to Denison, more than 20 per cent of the overall civil works have already been completed. Concrete pours for the foundations of the main processing plant and electrical substation are expected to begin in August.

A second shift will also be introduced, allowing seasonally sensitive civil and construction work to continue almost around the clock for the remainder of the summer.

– Completing the site-preparation activities needed to increase our on-site workforce and reach a full-scale rate of construction is an important initial milestone for the Phoenix project, says Denison President and CEO David Cates.

Uranium pumped out instead of mined

Phoenix will become the first Canadian uranium mine to use in-situ recovery, known as ISR. The method involves injecting an acidic mining solution through drilled wells and circulating it through uranium-bearing rock.

The solution dissolves the uranium without requiring the entire orebody to be excavated or blasted. The uranium-bearing liquid is then pumped back to the surface, where the uranium is separated and processed into uranium concentrate, commonly known as yellowcake.

ISR already accounts for more than half of global uranium production and is used on a large scale, particularly in Kazakhstan. However, the technique has never previously been used commercially at a Canadian uranium mine.

The method does not generate conventional waste-rock piles or tailings facilities of the type associated with traditional uranium mining. It does, however, require careful control of groundwater and of the mining solution circulating through the deposit.

Phoenix also differs from many other ISR projects because its uranium ore is located in a water-bearing sandstone environment.

Denison therefore plans to drill a ring of freeze holes around the production area. Refrigerated fluid circulated through the holes will freeze the surrounding ground, creating a barrier up to 10 metres thick.

The frozen wall is intended to reduce groundwater movement and keep the mining solution inside the designated production zone.

It will be constructed in stages. Only the barrier surrounding the first production area must be completed before operations begin. Additional sections can then be frozen as extraction progresses through the deposit, reducing the project’s initial capital requirements.

Construction licence does not yet permit production

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, CNSC, approved the project’s environmental assessment and issued a construction licence in February 2026.

The licence allows Denison to prepare the site and build the mine and processing facilities. It does not yet permit the company to begin commercial uranium production.

A separate operating licence must be applied for and considered through a future public hearing before production can start. The current construction licence remains valid until February 2031.

The CNSC concluded that the project is not expected to cause significant adverse environmental effects, provided that Denison implements the required mitigation measures, monitoring programmes and follow-up activities.

The conditions also include continued engagement with affected Indigenous nations and local communities.

Phoenix is the first major Canadian uranium mine to receive construction approval in more than 20 years. Denison also describes it as Canada’s first new large-scale uranium mine since Cigar Lake, which entered production in 2014.

Project cost rises to CAD600 million

Following the final investment decision, the estimated construction cost stands at approximately CAD600 million. This is around 20 per cent above the inflation-adjusted estimate in the project’s 2023 feasibility study.

Denison attributes the increase to inflation, more detailed engineering and technical modifications.

Among the changes, a larger number of wells will be designed for use in both injection and recovery. This will provide greater flexibility when controlling the underground flow of the mining solution.

In addition to the construction budget, approximately CAD 100 million is estimated to have been spent on engineering, procurement, and other activities before the final investment decision.

Denison expects construction to take approximately 24 months and is targeting first uranium production in mid-2028.

The economic assessment is based on around 10 years of production, with extraction continuing during part of an additional calendar year.

Phoenix contains proven and probable reserves of 56.7 million pounds of uranium oxide, equivalent to approximately 21,800 tonnes of uranium.

The project’s importance is reinforced by Canada’s position in the global uranium market. The country produced 14,300 tonnes of uranium in 2024, accounting for approximately 24 percent of worldwide mine production.

All of Canada’s current uranium production comes from Saskatchewan.

Phoenix is therefore more than another mining development. If the technology performs as planned, it could open the way for ISR extraction at other Canadian deposits previously considered too complex or expensive for conventional mining methods.

https://www.miningmetalnews.com/2026073 ... anium-mine