Toro Energy (ASX:TOE) is evaluating incorporating material from its Lake Way and Centipede-Millipede uranium deposits into a proposed processing operation at the Lake Maitland Project in Western Australia, amid conducting an extension study.
The $50.72 million market capitalisation company engaged mining engineers SRK Consulting (Australasia) to undertake the extension study.
The study highlighted that Lake Way’s and Centipede-Millipede’s uranium resources are needed to evaluate for viability as additional material at any Lake Maitland uranium-vanadium processing operation.
Executive Chairman Richard Homsany says the uranium resources at both deposits are ‘strategically located and considerable’.
“The inclusion of additional material into the Lake Maitland uranium-vanadium processing operation has the strong potential to add significant value to the Wiluna Uranium Project.”
Toro says the extension study aims to provide updated pit inventories at both deposits from pit optimisation outcomes. These will be used as inputs into a future updated Scoping Study for the Wiluna Uranium Project.
A Scoping Study for Lake Maitland was conducted by SRK and metallurgical and processing engineers at Strategic Metallurgy, which outlined the project’s potential to deliver robust financial returns.
Toro reports one of the ‘stand-out’ growth opportunities uncovered from the Scoping Study is the proposed production schedule does not include any mineral resources from the company’s other wholly owned uranium deposits.
This could lead to an increased mine life, total production, and revenue, which will result in adding considerable value to the overall project.
Another opportunity that arises from the Scoping Study was the ‘strong’ potential to increase production at the project. The extension study will evaluate whether this extends the potential processing of ‘high-grade’ uranium resource well beyond the 7th year.
Upon concluding the pit optimisation of the Lake Way and Centipede-Millipede this will in-turn define the potentially economic mining inventories of these deposits, for inclusion in an updated life of mine production schedule and updated financial model for the broader Wiluna project.
Toro Energy is an uranium developer and explorer with assets in Western Australia.
As of 30 September 2023, the company had $3.909 million cash and cash equivalents at hand, according to its latest quarterly report.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Toro Energy
