Lotus Resources Ltd (ASX:LOT) has hit an important milestone with the release of its inaugural sustainability development report for the Kayelekera Uranium Project in Malawi, as well as its head office in Perth, Australia.
The sustainability report provides an initial assessment and an overview of the company’s approach to delivering its environmental, social and governance (ESG) program.
Lotus’ ultimate goal is to become a recognised industry leader as it brings the Kayelekera Uranium Mine back into production, and have a lasting positive impact on all of its stakeholders.
The full report is available on the company’s website: https://lotusresources.com.au/esg-overview/
“Proud of our achievements”
Lotus managing director Keith Bowes said: “This year marks an important milestone for Lotus as we publish our inaugural sustainability report.
“We are proud of our achievements to date, however, we understand this is only the first step as we commit to continuously improving the way we do business.
“Despite our Kayelekera uranium mine being in care and maintenance, we still aim to maximise opportunities to create value for all stakeholders involved with the company.
“While financial and operational success is important, we never lose sight of the vital role that our people, including our contractors, play in driving sustainable performance.
“We have also worked hard to support the local communities in the region surrounding the Kayelekera mine, to ensure that they receive real benefit from our activities.
“We are committed to working closely with the local communities as real partners so that when Lotus thrives, they do too."
Achievements
The company’s achievements over the past 12 months include:
Environmental:
➢ Successful treatment and discharge of over 550,000 cubic metres of clean water that had been collected on-site during the wet season;
➢ Lowest ever annual energy consumption of 65,819kWh; and
➢ Lowest ever annual greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions of 1,503 tonnes CO2e.
Social:
➢ Zero lost-time injuries for the year with a total recordable injury frequency rate (TRIFR) of 5.14;
➢ A Community Development Agreement has been established with our local communities that will be implemented when the mine restarts;
➢ 55% of procurement spend with local and national businesses; and
➢ US$850,000 contributed to the Malawian economy (taxes, goods and services).
Governance:
➢ Strengthened the board with the appointment of high calibre independent directors that now comprise 50% of the board; and
➢ Submission of 15-year Mining Licence renewal at Kayelekera.
Kayelekera uranium mine
The company’s sole asset is the Kayelekera Uranium Mine in Malawi, Africa, which was acquired from Perth-based Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX:PDN) (Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX:PDN)) in March 2020.
Lotus owns an 85% equity interest in Kayelekera with the remaining 15% held by the Malawi government.
Due to sustained low uranium prices, Kayelekera has been in care and maintenance (C&M) since 2014.
While in production from 2009 to 2014, it was Malawi’s largest mine, producing 10.9 million pounds (Mlb) of uranium oxide (U3O8).
Kayelekera’s current mineral resource estimate (MRE) is 37.5 million pounds of uranium oxide at 630 parts per million (ppm).
In October 2020, Lotus released a Restart Scoping Study indicating that recommissioning Kayelekera would cost circa US$50 million and that if uranium prices improve, as expected based on the current macroeconomics, then the mine can be a viable, economic and long term operation with the potential to produce up to 3Mlb of uranium annually.
Kayelekera has the potential to become one of the first operations to come back online to meet an impending supply shortfall in uranium.
The restart timeline aligns with industry predictions of a market under-supply of around 30Mlbs uranium in 2024.