Published on Friday April 15 2011 (AEST)-Australia
Paladin Energy Has Reported Record Uranium Sales For The Quarter Ended March, Despite a 4% Decrease In Production Figures.
During the three months to March, Paladin sold around 1,4-million pounds of uranium oxide (U3O8), generating a record revenue of $92,5-million.
Overall production for the quarter also reached around 1,4-million pounds, which was a 4% decrease on the 1,46-million pounds of U3O8 produced in the December quarter, but an increase on the 1,1-million pounds of U3O8 produced in the previous corresponding quarter.
The Kayelekera mine, in Malawi, hit record production during the quarter, with a step-change in plant performance achieved during the quarter, Paladin reported.
The uranium miner told shareholders that the project had produced 606 034 lb of U3O8 during the quarter under review, which was a 14% increase on the previous quarter.
Production during the month of March at the Kayelekera operation reached 93% of the plant capacity, with the operation producing some 253 036 lb of U3O8.
The Langer Heinrich operation, in Namibia, however, saw a 14% decrease in production, owing to abnormal rainfall in the three months to March, particularly during the latter part of the quarter.
Paladin noted that this had restricted access to higher-grade mining areas and increased the difficulty in treating wet ore. As a consequence, the Langer Heinrich operation only produced 795 815 lb of U3O8 during the period, compared with a nameplate 925 000 lb.
Meanwhile, Paladin reported that the Langer Heinrich stage three expansion project was progressing, and has entered the commissioning phase. The stage three expansion would see the operation increase its current capacity to around 5,2-million tons a year.
The uranium miner said on Friday that the front-end feed preparation, crushing and scrubbing circuit was on track for production ramp-up during April, while the increased throughput capacity and scrubbing efficiency at the front-end was expected to quickly add to the production capacity of the processing plant.
The stage three expansion was currently 92% complete.
Paladin also reported that the stage four feasibility study, which was targeting a combined 8,7-million tons a year production level, remained on schedule for completion during the December quarter.
The environmental impact assessment documentation was nearly ready for final submission and work on the process design of the new plant has advanced significantly.
A new mining design and production schedule has also been completed and a conceptual design for the tailings deposit was being reviewed.
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