19 September 2024 ABN: 38 119 992 175 ASX Announcement Scoping Study confirms Letlhakane as long-life, high value uranium project Lotus Resources Limited (ASX: LOT, OTCQX: LTSRF) (Lotus or the Company) is pleased to announce the results of the Scoping Study (Scoping Study or Study) for its Letlhakane Uranium Project in Botswana (Letlhakane or the Project), which has confirmed the Project’s potential to support an economically viable long-life operation under a variety of uranium price scenarios. Lotus is developing Letlhakane in parallel with planning for the restart of production at the Kayelekera Uranium Project in Malawi in 2025 and aims to become a globally significant U3O8 producer when combining both assets.
HIGHLIGHTS • Scoping Study shows Letlhakane can support ~3Mlbpa over an extended life-of-mine (LoM), with flexibility to adjust production with uranium price fluctuations o Base Case is a 15-year LoM producing 3Mlbpa for total LoM production of 42Mlb. • Optimisation of mining costs and acid consumption demonstrates a base case cash cost of US$36/lb compared to a non-optimised cost of US$42/lb • Independent assessment determined Letlhakane geology is favourable for an in-situ recovery (ISR) operation, which could positively impact overall opex • Letlhakane resource size, grade and LoM compare favourably with other sub-Saharan Africa projects such as Deep Yellow’s (ASX: DYL) Tumas Project and Bannerman Energy’s (ASX: BMN) Etango Project o Lotus aims to deliver similar opex and capex structures to peers through optimisation. • Botswana is the highest ranked mining jurisdiction in Africa, with a global ranking of 4 (Policy Perceptions Index) in the 2023 Fraser Institute global survey • Lotus has commenced trade-off studies and is progressing a Mineral Resource Estimate update for Letlhakane o Lotus progresses trade-off studies including acid consumption, downstream process optimisation and mining methodology, and will provide an update in 4QCY24. o An ISR assessment, starting with pumpability testing and then a possible field leach trial, is being planned. o Lotus’s infill drill program at Letlhakane1 is near completion and will inform a resource update due in November, aiming to increase Measured and Indicated resource categories. o An updated study incorporating remaining optimisation work and potentially ISR due in 1QCY25. • Lotus is well funded to continue development at Kayelekera and Letlhakane with $34.1 million cash at bank as at 30 June 2024 Lotus CEO Greg Bittar commented: “Our Scoping Study clearly demonstrates Letlhakane’s merits as our second, longer life uranium project that can meet the longer-term supply shortfall. In a stronger long-term uranium price environment, which experts have forecast, Letlhakane increases the life of mine for Lotus. Coupled with Kayelekera, where we aim to restart production next year, this positions Lotus as a ~5.5Mlb per annum producer, potentially making it one of the largest uranium producers on the ASX. Our optimisation programs have delivered promising results to potentially decrease the cash cost from US$42/lb. It is also encouraging to note the “blue sky” potential of this project if the uranium price increases, as a US$100/lb price could see 65Mlbs of uranium for recovery, growing to 83Mlbs if we include low grade stockpiles at the tail end of operations. 1 See ASX announcements 25 June, 25 July, 15 August and 10 September 2024 ASX:LOT 2 The team has also identified the potential of an in-situ recovery process, or ISR, for some of the deeper mineralised zones at the project. We have received encouraging feedback on this based on an initial assessment carried out by expert consultant, ERM Australia Consultants. We will be following up on this opportunity over the next few months to determine the impact this could have on the project operating costs, which we believe could be significant. We look forward to providing further updates on the trade-off study results and ISR work before proceeding with a feasibility study to progress Letlhakane in the fastest and most efficient manner, to take advantage of the buoyant uranium market conditions.”
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