Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) – a company which has built much of its business around re-starting uranium production from South Australia’s Honeymoon mine – has reached a major milestone in that regard, producing the first drum of the material as part of its commissioning process at the site.
Having acquired Honeymoon in 2015, Boss rolled out an enhanced feasibility study for its restart six years later, showing that the mine could reach annual production of up to 2.45 million pounds (Mlb) of triuranium octoxide (U3O8) a year for a ten-year mine life.
A key part of the study was the recommendation of removing the existing Solvent Extraction (SX) plant, replacing it with Ion Exchange (IX) capacity. It was through this that production targets could be ramped up and operating costs reduced.
Managing director Duncan Craib said production of the first drum represented a notable milestone for Boss.
“As well as marking the start of production and cashflow, it shows conclusively that our mining and processing strategy is highly effective,” he said.
“This is pivotal because it paves the way for strong organic production growth by unlocking the value of our large Resource and leveraging the infrastructure we have in place. We have also made extensive provision in the Honeymoon plant for increased throughput.
“Increased utilisation of these highly valuable assets will enable us to further capitalise on the strong outlook for the uranium price while also ensuring we continue to drive superior financial returns.
“We are now accelerating this growth strategy, with geologists already in the field defining the mineral resources at the Gould’s Dam and Jason’s satellite deposits.”
Looking ahead, the company is aiming to lift production rate and mine life at the project, keeping in mind that contemporary production utilises only 36Mlb of the project’s total 71.6Mlb JORC Resource.
Boss Energy has been trading at $4.590c.