The first stage early construction works at Bannerman’s Etango Uranium Project have been completed and focus now shifts to the finalising of the next round of contracts for further works.
In January, Bannerman awarded two contracts to a local Namibian contractor, Namibbeton (Pty) Ltd., for the Etango temporary water pipeline and the access road construction.
The first stage of the access road to the mine entrance was completed in June, with a few items remaining on the project list, such as rehabilitation of the landscape, the installation of traffic signs and the repositioning of fibre-optic cables and powerlines.
The temporary water pipeline was also completed and has successfully undergone pressure testing. July saw the team finish construction of the water storage tank, which stands 7 meters high with a diameter of 11.7 meters and has the capacity to hold 700 m3 of water (700,000 liters).
The pipeline has been commissioned from the NamWater pipeline near Rössing Mountain to the terminal water storage tank. Rehabilitation work and final route markings are now being completed.
Managing Director of Bannerman Mining Resources Namibia, Werner Ewald, is very pleased with the progress. “When any safety or environmental concerns were highlighted, the contractor and the Bannerman team worked well together to address these issues.
Regular updates have ensured that items that could have caused a delay to the works were taken care of, and thus the works are very close to achieving their targeted completion dates.” An external environmental audit was conducted early in July and confirmed good compliance to all environmental standards.
Construction is not the only thing that has advanced at Bannerman in the last 3 months; Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) and Control Budget Estimate (CBE) processes were completed, providing significant further de-risking of the base-case definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the 8 Mtpa Etango uranium development (Etango-8).
“The FEED process is highly valuable as we move towards construction,” informs Gavin Chamberlain, CEO of Bannerman Energy.
“Improved certainty of design related to the inter-relationship between selected mechanical equipment has improved technical certainty. We now have a more detailed construction schedule, which supports a shorter timeline between the final investment decision (FID) and the start of construction.”
Regarding the CBE processes, Gavin commented: “The total pre-production capital estimate has increased by 11.3%, which included incremental scope changes that have further derisked the project. Even more noteworthy, there was just a 2.6% increase in forecast operating costs. This is an outstanding result that is testament to the high quality of the DFS.”
Across the waters in Australia, Bannerman Energy completed an AUD$85 million placement in July. The funds raised will go towards detailed design and the next stage of early works construction at Etango, including construction power, earthworks and selected long-lead items.
The capital raising was well supported by new and existing investors, with J.P. Morgan Securities Australia Limited, Jett Capital Advisors, LLC and Euroz Hartleys Limited acting as Joint Lead Managers.
The next two contracts for early works include extending the road network on the site, from the entrance gate where the access road ends to the various areas on the mine site, and building the temporary powerline, in addition to installing the associated electrical switchgear necessary for the site construction works.
The next stage of the road construction will be completed by Namibbeton. The contract for the powerline is currently out for tender. The bulk earthworks contract is currently being finalised for award.
These activities are all directed towards advancing Etango to a targeted positive Final Investment Decision (FID) during H2 2024.
Contributed By Bannerman Mining Resources Namibia
