GTI Energy (ASX:GTR) calls the Lo Herma Uranium Project in Wyoming, US, to be a competitive low-cost uranium operation using the in-situ recovery (ISR) process, after completing a Scoping Study.
The Scoping Study, completed by engineering group BRS Engineering, focused on a preferred base case for a central processing plant (CPP) and evaluated an alternative satellite operation.
As a result of the study, the project is forecast to have a seven year mine life producing 5.98 million pounds of triuranium octoxide, with an annual production target of 800,000 pounds.
The project has a pre-tax net present value (NPV) of US$110 million ($169.4 million) as a CPP with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 52%.
Meanwhile, as a satellite operation the project has a pre-tax NPV of US$118 million ($181.7 million) with an internal rate of return of 66%.
GTI, which has a market capitalisation of $10.5 million, adds that the project has “attractive” projected economics based on a forecast of US$90 per pound of triuranium octoxide.
Lo Herma has a low initial capital expenditure forecast of US$67 million as a CPP and US$57 million as a satellite operation.
The project’s payback is expected to occur in two and a half years from the start of production and the NPV breakeven uranium price over the economic evaluation period is US$60 per pound.
CEO Bruce Lane says the capital costs to establish the initial project with either operation option are quite low due to expected simple metallurgy and Lo Herma’s location near critical infrastructure.
“We believe that operating cost estimates are in line with similar nearby low-cost ISR operations in the region,” Lane says.
“GTI recognises that the project would be analogous to nearby existing ISR uranium operations in Wyoming’s Southern Powder River Basin, a globally recognised, experienced and supportive low-cost uranium mining jurisdiction.”
The company says construction is expected to begin during 2028, with commissioning production beginning in 2029.
GTI notes there is potential to extend Lo Herma’s mine life for seven years by converting the exploration target into mineral resources in the mine plan, with further drilling.
Lo Herma’s exploration target ranges between 5.6 to 7.1 million tonnes @ 500 parts per million (ppm) to 700ppm equivalent uranium.
GTI is planning to conduct groundwater pumping tests to better understand the hydrology underlying Lo Herma, as well as further metallurgical testing to better define reaction kinetics and optimal lixiviant parameters.
In conjunction, exploration drilling will continue with the aim to improve and upgrade the resource estimate.
Additional studies are also required to consider power and water supply, as well as logistics and equipment supply sources. Further environmental and amenity considerations will also be included in a proposed Feasibility Study.
The Lo Herma Project, located in the Southern Powder River Basin, includes a producing ISR plant and satellite plant that is currently in construction.
The Powder River Basin has extensive ISR uranium production history with numerous defined ISR uranium resources, CPPs and satellite deposits. GTI says the Powder River Basin has been the backbone of Wyoming’s uranium production since the 1970s.
Global uranium demand is projected to increase for nuclear power, driven by net zero ambitions and the need for base load power for data centres. The Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) Resources and Energy Quarterly for March 2025 reveals the uranium consumption is expected to increase from 95 kilotonnes in 2024 to 105 kilotonnes in 2030.
This rise in consumption is driven by several countries expanding their nuclear generation capacity. Of the 63 reactors currently under construction globally, 28 are in China and seven are in India.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: GTI Energy
