• Mining

Langer Heinrich Uranium returns

In the Namib-Naukluft National Park, some 90 kilometres east of Walvis Bay in the Erongo Region, over 1 000 contractors swarm the Langer Heinrich uranium mine and plant, committed to an all-out effort to get the giant operation back on its feet in early 2024.

On 29 July, Australian-listed majority owners Paladin Energy issued a statement by its CEO, Ian Purdy: “During the quarter, critical plant equipment was delivered to the site, where our on-site project execution team and over 1 000 contractors are actively engaged in returning the Langer Heinrich Mine to production.

"The project remains on time and on budget with first production targeted for Q1 CY2024. With a strong uranium contract book and a world-class asset in the Langer Heinrich Mine, Paladin remains well-positioned to deliver long-term value for our stakeholders," he said.

The other major shareholder in Langer Heinrich Uranium is CNNC Overseas Uranium Holding Limited, a subsidiary of China Nuclear Corporation, holding the remaining 25% of the equity.

More than five years since Langer Heinrich was placed on care and maintenance, the slumbering nuclear fuel giant is itching to get back into full production. Sustained low uranium (U3O8) prices forced the suspension of operations back in 2018. This while Langer Heinrich Uranium was producing 5.2 million pounds annually.

Its surficial calcrete deposit still holds a mineral resource of some 149 million pounds, according to the mine’s website. Before closure at end of the 2016/17 financial year, a total of 674 direct employment opportunities were sustained; 368 under Langer Heinrich Uranium and 306 contractor employees.

At the time, of the 368 Langer Heinrich employees, 95% were Namibians and 18% were women.



Restart effort

Now, contractor ADP Namibia heads the restart effort, after Paladin Energy approved the project in July 2022. ADP Namibia is engaged to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services to deliver the project with planned repair and refurbishment activities and growth projects to optimise and de-bottleneck the process.

The engagement has included early planning and design, followed by an 18-month construction period, expected to be completed in March 2024, the ADP Group member company said.

Services provided include detailed design, field engineering, contract and procurement management, project cost and schedule controls and the safe construction and commissioning of the works. ADP Namibia, with support from ADP Marine & Modular, provides the bulk of all project delivery resources and the project makes use of the ADP Group's systems, plans, procedures, guidelines and forms, it said.

Paladin confirmed on 20 July that the project remains on track to be completed within its N$2.1 billion budget for first production in the first quarter of 2024. Site works remain focused on general repairs and refurbishment activities to return the existing process plant to operational readiness, it added.

Meanwhile, ADP continues to provide engineering and procurement services for process upgrades to increase throughput capacity and operational availability.



60% complete

The project is approximately 60% complete, according to Paladin. It has progressed following the contractor workforce being fully ramped up to the anticipated peak, with over 1 000 personnel on-site putting in over 850 000 injury-free man-hours.

Delivery of critical construction materials and plant equipment to site - including a Hydrosort classifier, agitators, thickeners, cyclones, structural steel, prefabricated tanks and tank strakes - has been completed. Plant improvement steel fabrication, including the construction of the Hydrosort structure, leach surge tanks and other structural steel and plate works, continues. Workshop site assembly and testing of the automated and dustless drumming plant has been done, while mobilisation of a project commissioning manager and commissioning team is on track.

Furthermore, shipment of ion-exchange resin - required for the uranium extraction process - is underway, while the general managers for Langer Heinrich operations as well as the mining and process manager have also come on board. The completion of an independent operational readiness gap assessment, confirming that the mine is well placed for operations, and the commencement of recruitment strategies for the operational workforce and initial engagements with potential mining contractors are also among the latest highlights.

In related news, the upgrade and improved design efficiency of the run-of-mine bins, installation of the dust-collection system for secondary and tertiary crushing and the completion of the steel erection and construction of the leach surge tanks are tasks now to be completed. Installation of the Hydrosort and cyclones, completion of the mechanical installation of the final product thickener and commencement of the final product recovery building construction will follow, along with continued advancement of operational readiness activities, Paladin said.