Peninsula Energy Ltd (ASX:PEN, OTCQB:PENMF) continues to deliver meaningful and valuable results from the MU1A low-pH field demonstration at the flagship, 100%-owned Lance Uranium Project in Wyoming, USA.
This field demonstration of low-pH In-Situ Recovery (ISR) of uranium has been operating for more than one year and has yielded further positive recent results.
Field operations continue to run consistently with target flow and solution chemistry achieved and maintained and the improvement trend of uranium grade is ongoing.
Key learnings during the demonstration include well pattern configuration criteria.
“Targeted chemistry effective”
Commenting on the continuing progress, Peninsula managing director and CEO Wayne Heili said: “The current results of the field demonstration suggest that the targeted chemistry is effective in dissolving and recovering uranium from the Lance deposit.
"The production stream grades continue to improve while the variation of uranium grade among the recovery wells has highlighted the importance of precise well placement in achieving targeted levels of grade and recovery performance from the resource.”
Transformation initiative
Following a positive feasibility study, Peninsula is embarking on a project transformation initiative at the Lance Project to change from an alkaline ISR operation to a low-pH ISR operation with the aim of aligning the operating performance and cost profile of the project with industry-leading global uranium production projects.
Peninsula’s project team has continued to focus on technical and operational concepts that hold potential to enhance future performance, particularly changes to the configuration of the injection and recovery well patterns.
In the previous progress update in July the composite production stream of the field demonstration operation had reached the approximate target levels for pH, free acid concentration and Oxygen Reduction Potential (ORP).
Further, the composite stream uranium grade was trending upward and had reached approximately 40 ppm.
Composite grade increases
Since then, pH and ORP levels have been maintained and the operational activities have resulted in the uranium composite grade increasing to over 50 ppm, with one production well consistently yielding solution grades of 80 to 100 ppm.
Importantly, the combined flow rate of the field demonstration production wells has been maintained over the duration of the first year of operations.
The flow rate started around 75 gallons per minute (GPM) and the patterns are currently running at approximately 80 GPM.
Better suited to low-pH solutions
Uranium grades indicate that Lance is better suited to the planned low-pH solutions than the previous alkaline based solution.
Approximately 5 pore volumes of solution have been displaced within the MU1A area. The uranium grade trend has mirrored the 2018 Feasibility Study model to date.
Peninsula’s work has shown that the pilot-scale ion-exchange system yields produced uranium and the company is now planning on expanding the scope of the field demonstration with the installation of a new small-scale pattern that is not expected to extend the duration of the demonstration.
Bench-scale evaluation of advanced uranium recovery technology has been completed while the permitting enhancements and modifications have been progressed.
Heili added: "With continued higher grades, the company has now successfully produced uranium from the pilot ion exchange system.
"Information gained during the demonstration operations will be applied to optimising the commercial low-pH approach as the company progresses the Lance Project toward a decision to finance the resumption of commercial production.”
Uranium sale
Early in September 2021, the company completed a sale of 200,000 pounds of U3O8 pursuant to a long-term contract. This was sourced from the existing portfolio of binding purchase agreements.
A net cash margin of US$3.8 million will be generated from this sale and is scheduled for receipt in early October 2021.