ASX-listed Lotus Resources' newly completed scoping study for the Letlhakane uranium project, in Botswana, has confirmed the project's potential as a commercially viable operation, with the potential to produce three-million pounds a year of uranium and a possible extended operational lifespan.

In the base case, the openpit mine is projected to produce 42.3-million pounds of uranium oxide over 15 years, at a total cash cost of $42/lb. Optimisation efforts could lower costs to $36/lb, CEO Greg Bittar said on Thursday.

He highlighted the “blue sky” potential at Letlhakane, noting that at a uranium price of $100/lb, the project could recover 65-million pounds of uranium, increasing to 83-million pounds by including low-grade stockpiles in the later stages of operations.

The study estimates initial capital at A$465-million.

Lotus has also identified potential for in-situ recovery (ISR) in deeper mineralised zones at Letlhakane. ISR, a widely used method in the US, involves injecting a solution into the ground to dissolve and extract minerals without traditional excavation.

ISR specialist ERM Australia Consultants has confirmed the suitability of Letlhakane for ISR, given its location below the water table, flat tabular structure, and the presence of necessary aquitards to control fluid movement.

While still in early evaluation stages, Lotus sees promising ISR results and plans to develop a comprehensive programme to further explore the option. If successful, ISR could complement the proposed openpit heap leach process, particularly in costlier mining areas.

“We will be following up on this opportunity over the next few months to determine the impact this could have on the project operating costs, which we believe could be significant,” said Bittar.

Lotus is developing Letlhakane, which is one of the biggest undeveloped uranium projects, with a resource base of 155-million tonnes at 345 part per million for 118-million pounds contained uranium, in parallel with planning for the restart of production at the Kayelekera project, in Malawi.

“Our scoping study clearly demonstrates Letlhakane’s merits as our second, longer-life uranium project that can meet the longer-term supply shortfall. In a stronger long-term uranium price environment, which experts have forecast, Letlhakane increases the life-of-mine for Lotus,” said Bittar.

“Coupled with Kayelekera, where we aim to restart production next year, this positions Lotus as a 5.5-million-pound-a-year producer, potentially making it one of the largest uranium producers on the ASX,” he said.

Lotus’ share price gained 5% to A$0.24 a share on Thursday.