Boss Energy reaches pivotal point in restart of Honeymoon uranium project

Boss Energy (ASX: BOE) has reached a pivotal point in the restart of the Honeymoon uranium project in South Australia, with the first wellfield complete and related gypsum pond and water treatment plants nearing completion.

Completion of this milestone ensures the project remains on track for production by year end.

Preparatory work for structured pumping tests and flushing of the startup wellfields is now underway and will be followed by commissioning activities.

Installation of lining material for the 25,000 tonne gypsum pond is nearing completion for full operational use.

Progressing to plan

Managing director Duncan Craib said the project is progressing to plan.

“We remain on time and on budget as we move towards the restart of Honeymoon,” he said.

“Our timing is looking ideal, with the uranium market continuing to tighten and the spot price moving up.”

Critical path items

Mr Craib said all critical path items remain on track for delivery in line with the project schedule.

More than 135 procurement packages have been issued in line with cost estimates contained in the front-end engineering design (FEED) study.

All significant items have been delivered and installed, while raw water supply and liquid disposal lines have been welded, completed and ready for use.

Ground water extraction and construction of a new raw water system is on target to begin delivering to the processing plant in coming weeks.

The necessary reagent areas are in the final stages of preparation for receiving their first fill.

Mechanicals for the project’s reverse osmosis plant have been installed, with electrical and final piping nearing completion.

The 250 cubic metres per hour plant comprises six containers of filters, pumps and reverse osmosis tubes with associated chemical dosing systems.

Fully-funded to production

Boss remains fully-funded through to production, with cash on hand of $103 million and a strategic uranium stockpile valued at A$105 million based on current spot prices.

The company has no long-term debt.

Committed spend now totals $81.5 million (or 77%) of the project’s $105.4 million capital expenditure budget.