Lotus Resources Limited has advanced its Kayelekera Uranium Project in Malawi, with cold commissioning advanced and production on track for Q3 2025. The company has adopted an owner-operator mining model.

Project highlights:

• Processing plant commissioning:
  Cold commissioning of the Kayelekera processing plant is now well advanced. Key circuits—including pre-leach, leaching, and resin-in-pulp—have completed initial mechanical and systems checks. Elution and uranium precipitation circuits are currently undergoing cold commissioning, with hot commissioning expected to commence in early Q3 2025.
• Adoption of owner-operator mining model:
  Following a comprehensive contractor tender process and operational review, Lotus has elected to proceed with an owner-operator mining strategy. This approach is expected to provide greater control over mining activities and ROM (run-of-mine) management while enabling cost efficiencies during the production ramp-up phase.
  
  • Mining will begin in Q4 2025, with initial production supported by existing stockpiles.
  • An estimated US$8 million investment in mining equipment is underway, supported by equipment finance facilities currently being finalised.
  • Owner-operator mining is expected to reduce mining costs, which account for approximately one-third of Kayelekera’s C1 cash costs.
  • Additional synergies are anticipated in areas such as tailings storage facility construction and site infrastructure maintenance.
• Financing:
  Lotus has increased its working capital facility from US$20 million to US$30 million, with a revised non-binding term sheet signed with Standard Bank. This is in addition to an equipment finance facility of US$10 million already under discussion with Standard Bank.

Furthermore, Lotus Africa (85% owned by Lotus) is finalising documentation for an US$8.5 million equipment finance facility with First Capital Bank.

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Lotus Managing Director Greg Bittar said, “We are pleased to have commenced cold commissioning of the Kayelekera processing plant, already completing this for several key plant areas, including pre-leach, leaching and resin-in-pulp circuit. The commencement of this critical restart stage positions Lotus well for the Q3 2025 restart of production at Kayelekera.

“Following an exhaustive mining contractor tender process and simultaneously undertaking a detailed examination of an owner-operator mining model, we have adopted an owner-operator model. The opportunity to adopt this model presented strongly as we built out the site management and operational team with tremendous mining and maintenance experience, well suited for a relatively small open-pit mining operation. With the very limited mining presence in Malawi and hence limited synergies available to mining contractors, the owner-operator mining model is the most cost-effective and flexible option,” said Bittar.

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“We have placed orders for the mining equipment, and mining is planned to commence in Q4 this year. The initial ramp-up of production will utilise existing mined ore stockpiles until mining delivers the first ore, as was always the plan, with the equipment for the ROM stockpile management already on site and operational.

“We are also pleased to be working with Standard Bank to finalise the facilities with them, including an upsized working capital facility on very competitive pricing and terms, and finalising the equipment financing facility with First Capital Bank. This underscores the quality of the Kayelekera Project and lenders’ increasing confidence in the progress of the restart program, which remains on track for first production in Q3 2025.”