• Market Watch

Rössing eyes expansion beyond 2036

• 2 Months Ago - 2024-06-20 00:00:00

Rössing Uranium CEO Johan Coetzee says the miner is looking at expansion beyond 2036, at which point mining activities are expected to grind to a halt.
Coetzee made the remarks at the launch of the company’s sustainability report launch this week, and said Rössing was focused on its planned Phase 4 expansion, which aims to identify an economic pathway for achieving higher production rates from new sources of ore, and extending the life of mine beyond 2036.
This follows a decision by the Chinese-backed miner to extend the operations from 2027 - when it originally planned to close - to 2036, which coincides with a move to contract Beifang Mining to carry out a full contract mining service from 2024 to 2036.
“2024 will be another important year for Rössing Uranium as we begin with substantial pushback work for the Phase 4 extension, while evaluating new opportunities that could potentially extend the life of mine beyond 2036,” Coetzee said.
Following the approval of the life-of-mine extension and in the face of increasing uranium ore concentrate, Rössing’s long-term strategy is now focused on identifying an economic pathway for achieving higher production rates from new sources of ore, and pushing the life-of-mine extension beyond 2036, Coetzee explained.

Significance of Z17, Z20 pits
To build on Rössing’s planned expansion, the development of a new pit would help bolster future production.
“The most prospective part of ML28 for development of a new pit is south of the Khan River in the Z17-20 area. Exploration previously conducted on the Z20 deposit identified the economic potential for a pit that would extend across the lease boundary with Swakop Uranium’s mining licence 171, and join the Husab Zone 1 pit.
“The plan for 2024 is to commence with a two- to three-year exploration drilling programme in this area, while conducting studies to define the pathway for economic development,” Coetzee said.
“These studies will investigate the options for new surface infrastructure, to process the ore and dispose of the mineral waste, compared to transporting the ore for processing at the existing facilities,” he added.

Rössing in numbers
A total of 16.7 million tonnes of uranium were mined, compared to 16.6 million tonnes in 2022. Waste and low-grade ore totalled 6.8 million tonnes removed from the pit, while a further 0.1 million tonnes were dumped in-pit. The stripping ratio of waste to ore continued to decline as the company moved deeper into the pit. Meanwhile, 9.3 million tonnes of ore were milled, compared to nine million tonnes in 2022.
A total of 2 920 metric tonnes of uranium oxide were produced, compared to 2 659 metric tonnes in 2022.
Total revenue earned amounted to N$6.48 billion, compared to N$4.84 billion in 2022, with net profit after tax from normal operations of N$1.34 billion, compared to N$840 million in 2022.
Dividends of N$177 million were declared and paid during the year.