Toro Energy (ASX: TOE) reports that it has achieved a ‘significant’ increase in potential ore following a scoping level re-optimisation of the mining pit at the Lake Maitland Uranium Deposit within its Wiluna Uranium Project in Western Australia.
The company notes that this completed pit re-optimisation work has validated Lake Maitland as a stand-alone uranium-vanadium operation, and as the preferred first resource to be mined for the greater Wiluna Uranium project.
The recently-completed study has outlined a series of key improvements including:
- Significant lowering of the average grade of U3O8 for the potential Lake Maitland ore to 370ppm U3O8 from 631ppm U3O8;
- 167% increase in potential ore to 35.2Mt from 13.2Mt;
- 50% increase in potential uranium production to 23.5 Mlbs U3O8 from 15.8 Mlbs U3O8;
- Potential production of 12.2 Mlbs of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) as a by-product;
- An increase in the size of the Lake Maitland mining pit with a revised pit rim cut-off grade of 109ppm U3O8, well below the 200ppm U3O8 cut-off for the stated resource; and
- A 74% increased forecast mine life to 17.6 years from 10.1 years despite a 54% increase in processing throughput for the revised processing plant.
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Toro notes that the studies are based on lower-level technical and economic assessment, and do not provide a guarantee that the study’s conclusions will be realised. Re-optimisation results are based on the following material assumptions:
- Us$70/lb U3O8 price and US$5.67/lb V2O5 price;
- AUD: USD exchange rate of US$0.75; and
- Most recent Lake Maitland resource estimate
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Addressing the update, Toro Energy Executive Chairman Richard Homsany said: “The re-optimisation of the Lake Maitland pit is a very significant step towards realising the true value and potential of our 100% owned Wiluna Uranium Project in WA. These results have materially elevated, at a scoping study level, the potential ore to be mined and U3O8 to be produced at Lake Maitland.
– Our investment in R&D activities over a number of years has led to potential:
– OPEX and CAPEX cost efficiencies of material economic significance;
– Vanadium production at very low marginal cost, and
– Major increase in Lake Maitland U3O8 production over an extended mine life.
Re-locating the processing plant from Centipede to Lake Maitland reduces the haulage cost significantly to potentially result in a very significant economic benefit to a stand-alone Lake Maitland operation. These outstanding Study outcomes provide us with confidence that Lake Maitland will be transformational for the value of the Wiluna Uranium Project.
“Toro is now very well positioned to continue enhancing value at Lake Maitland over the coming months”
Toro is now very well positioned to continue enhancing value at Lake Maitland over the coming months. We look forward to using the pit optimisation outcomes to advance the engineer’s evaluation of the capital cost of a stand-alone Lake Maitland uranium-vanadium operation. We are enthusiastic about the value creation of Lake Maitland applying to the benefit of the Wiluna Uranium Project as a whole.
Toro remains committed to disciplined, targeted and cost-effective work programmes across its core assets. We also look forward to providing further updates from the diamond drilling campaign currently underway at our Dusty Nickel Project.”
The company notes that the study has also incorporated improvements and potential cost reductions from Toro’s R&D activities together with the production of vanadium as a by-product.
In addition, the study has indicated that Lake Maitland can now potentially produce 78% of the 30.2 Mlbs U3O8 production from all four deposits across the Wiluna Uranium Project.
This will follow the relocation of the processing plant from Centipede to Lake Maitland, resulting in material haulage cost reduction.
Map displaying the location of Lake Maitland with the greater Wiluna Uranium Project. Image: Toro Energy LimitedToro reports that it will move forward with a mining schedule developed from the pit optimisation to be used to estimate the capital cost of a stand-alone Lake Maitland uranium-vanadium operation.
