Lotus Resources Limited (ASX: LOT | OTCQB: LTSRF) has provided a revised mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its Letlhakane Uranium Project in Botswana, based on the principle of “reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction” as required by the JORC Reporting Code.
Letlhakane complements Lotus’s Kayelekera Project in Malawi, which is set to restart uranium production in 2025. Letlhakane’s revised MRE establishes it as a large and attractive standalone development project – with potential for Lotus to become a globally significant U3O8 producer when combining both assets.
The revised mineral resource estimate (MRE) is 155.3Mt at 345ppm U3O8 for 118.2Mlb U3O8, including 34.4Mlb indicated resources. The revised Letlhakane MRE is constrained by pit shells demonstrating reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction (RPEEE) and is based on a 200pm U3O8 cut-off grade.
Managing director, Keith Bowes, commented, “This analysis has resulted in Letlhakane’s potential significantly exceeding our initial expectations, with it clearly having the capacity to be a major uranium producing asset for a very long time. Letlhakane’s revised MRE of 118Mlb could deliver ~80Mlb of recovered uranium over its life, based on 2015 technical study recoveries (~70%).”
Letlhakane’s resource scale and production potential is in line with other ASX 300 company’s primary uranium assets, for example, Deep Yellow’s (ASX: DYL) Tumas Project and Bannerman Energy’s (ASX: BMN) Etango Project. Based on higher cut-off grades there is potential for mining to target even higher grade portions of the deposit in the early years of the operation.
Furthermore, the revised MRE will support the proposed mining studies, with metallurgical test work also planned for process flowsheet development.
The company has announced it will progress the Letlhakane development in parallel with Kayelekera restart, which is targeted for late 2025.
To find out more, please visit www.lotusresources.com.au
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