A pit re-optimisation study has validated Toro Energy’s Lake Maitland deposit as a standalone uranium-vanadium operation.
The study found a 50 per cent increase in potential uranium production for Lake Maitland and identified the deposit as the preferred resource for Toro’s Wiluna uranium project in Western Australia.
A 167 per cent increase in potential uranium oxide (U3O8) ore has also been determined, rising from 13.2 million tonnes (Mt) to 35.2Mt. This incorporates the production of vanadium as a by-product, with a potential production of 12.2 million pounds of vanadium oxide (V2O5).
The study found Lake Maitland to have an increased forecast mine life of 74 per cent, from 10.1 years to 17.6 years.
Toro executive chairman Richard Homsany said the findings have successfully repositioned Lake Maitland as an operation for the future.
“The re-optimisation of the Lake Maitland pit is a very significant step towards realising the true value and potential of our 100 per cent owned Wiluna uranium project,” he said.
“These results have materially elevated, at a scoping study level, the potential ore to be mined and U3O8 to be produced at Lake Maitland.”
Toro said analysis of the re-optimisation shows three separate economic advantages to Lake Maitland moving forward:
- the reduction in costs due to improvements to the processing circuit.
- increased revenue from the addition of V2O5
- the reduction in haulage costs arising from relocating the processing plant adjacent to the Lake Maitland pit.
“Toro is now very well positioned to continue enhancing value at Lake Maitland over the coming months,” Homsany said.
“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.”