Boss Energy achieves nameplate production from NIMCIX ion exchange column at Honeymoon
Boss Energy (ASX: BOE) has hit a key milestone in the ramp-up of its Honeymoon uranium project in South Australia, with the first NIMCIX continuous ion exchange column achieving nameplate production.
The company produced a total of 72,516 pounds of uranium during July and August and also completed the construction of the second NIMCIX column, with wet commissioning and sequence testing expected to be finalised in time for operation later this month.
The third column remains on track for completion and production before the year-end.
Cost updates
Boss said it would provide preliminary updates on project costs once the second and third NIMCIX columns have been commissioned.
Bringing each new column online is expected to result in a proportional increase in production and reduction in the uranium cost per pound.
The final three columns will be commissioned in 2025 to enable the ramp-up to continue in line with feasibility study forecasts and help the company achieve Honeymoon’s nameplate capacity of 2.45Mlbpa of uranium oxide.
Exceeding targets
Managing director Duncan Craib said the company continued to meet or exceed key project targets.
“This is a pivotal point in the project’s development,” he said.
“Our first IX circuit is now operating at nameplate capacity, proving that the technology works at the rate and scale forecast in the feasibility study.”
Mr Craib added that Boss was “comfortably on track” to meet Honeymoon’s 850,000lb uranium oxide production guidance for the 2025 financial year.
Technical improvements
Boss has invested significant time and capital in making technical improvements to Honeymoon since acquiring the project in December 2015.
The project recommenced production in April, making it the only pure-play uranium producer listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Chair Wyatt Buck applauded the restart of operations after a nine-year lead-up.
“It was a remarkable achievement to be one of the first uranium mines globally to come back online in this new price cycle,” he said.
Mr Buck said the time taken to restart Honeymoon at commercial scale reflected the difficulty of bringing new uranium mines into production.