By: Mining.com

Lotus Resources (ASX:LOT) reports first mining blast at the open pit of its Kayelekera Uranium Mine in Malawi, following the start of uranium production in August 2025. 

The company says this key milestone marks mining beginning at Kayelekera, enabling Lotus’ planned transition from processing previously mined ore stockpiles to include new run-of-mine (ROM) ore from the mine. 

Kayelekera hosts a current mineral resource estimate of 51.1 million pounds U3O8 equivalent (including the Livingstonia resource) and historically produced ~11Mlbs U3O8 equivalent over a five-year period from 2009-2014, before ceasing production and entering care and maintenance due to sustained low uranium prices.

During FY25, Lotus implemented an accelerated restart plan to refurbish and restart the operation. Following commissioning and first yellowcake drumming in Q3 2025, Lotus is ramping up to a steady-state uranium production level of 200,000 pounds of U3O8 per month at Kayelekera, which remains on track for Q1 2026.

Lotus Managing Director Greg Bittar says Kayelekera product accreditation by uranium converters is well advanced, with samples received by all three western converters – US, Canada, and France.

“The commencement of drill and blast activities marks another major milestone for the Kayelekera uranium mine. The stockpiles we have been processing continue to outperform our expectations, and the transition to freshly mined ore will support the ramp-up trajectory,” Bittar says.

“The site team’s methodical planning and disciplined approach continues to support the momentum we’ve maintained as we bring Kayelekera back into production, positioning Lotus as a global uranium producer at a very exciting time for the energy sector.”

Lotus is an Africa-focused uranium producer with significant scale and mineral resources. It owns an 85% interest in the Kayelekera Uranium Mine in Malawi, and 100% of the Letlhakane Uranium Project in Botswana.

The project has a 10-year mine life with steady state all-in sustaining costs (AISC) expected at US$45/lb. There is further production upside and mine life extension potential through regional exploration and targeted drilling.

Lotus has binding offtake agreements with four major global utilities and traders for 3.5-3.8Mlbs of uranium sales between 2026 and 2029. All agreements have fixed pricing based on an agreed USD base price referenced to published long-term price at the time (with escalation) – delivering a very attractive margin over Kayelekera’s expected AISC.