KEY POINTS
- Lotus increases Letlhakane’s indicated mineral resources by 65 percent.
- Infill drilling and targeted exploration contribute to significant resource growth.
- Lotus plans further drilling to convert more inferred material to indicated.
Lotus Resources has announced a substantial increase in the mineral resources at its Letlhakane uranium project in Botswana, following a successful infill drill program.
According to CEO Greg Bittar, the program has converted a large portion of the inferred mineral resources into the indicated category, bringing the indicated resource estimate to 50 percent.
The revised pit-constrained mineral resource estimate (MRE) shows a 65 percent increase in indicated resources, now totaling 142.2 million tonnes at 363 parts per million (ppm) of uranium oxide for 113.7 million pounds.
Infill drilling significantly boosts resource estimate
The revised MRE for the Letlhakane project, constrained by pit shells that demonstrate reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction (RPEEE), incorporates the results of 164 recent infill drilling holes, covering a total of 12,108 meters.
The increased indicated resource has the potential to enhance the project’s economic viability and is expected to play a key role in the future development plans.
The additional resources from the infill drilling indicate a promising future for Letlhakane, a project that continues to show potential for growth.
In addition to the successful drill program at Letlhakane, Lotus also conducted targeted exploration at the Marotobolo site, located on the western border of the mining license. This effort added an additional 4.4 million pounds of RPEEE-constrained inferred resources to the project.
Ongoing exploration and future drilling plans
The results from the infill drilling have also highlighted further opportunities for mineral resource growth, prompting Lotus to plan another round of drilling to explore these possibilities.
The company will assess the additional growth opportunities identified in the current program as part of its next exploration phase, which aims to convert more inferred resources into the indicated category.
Bittar explained that the updated MRE would be incorporated into several mining and process optimization studies.
According to Mining Weekly, these studies are expected to help Lotus refine the project’s feasibility, with the company aiming to release an updated scoping study by the third quarter of 2025.
The focus will now be on completing mining optimization studies, process flowsheet development, and cost estimates.
Letlhakane and Kayelekera projects progressing in tandem
Letlhakane is a key part of Lotus Resources’ growth strategy, complementing the company’s Kayelekera uranium project in Malawi, which is set to restart production in the third quarter of 2025.
Lotus plans to advance both projects simultaneously, progressing Letlhakane’s development alongside the Kayelekera restart.
The revised MRE underscores the potential of Letlhakane as a large-scale, standalone uranium development project, and Lotus is confident that the project’s continued growth will further solidify its position in the global uranium market.
“We are now focused on completing the optimization studies and refining the process flowsheet to prepare for the updated scoping study next year,” Bittar concluded.
