ASX-listed Lotus Resources said on Thursday that Malawi’s President, Lazarus Chakwera, officiated the relaunch of the Kayelekera uranium mine in northern Malawi, as the project entered its final commissioning phase.

On Tuesday, Chakwera, accompanied by Mining Minister Kenneth Ng’oma, and traditional and regional leaders, attended the official inauguration of the restart of the mine. The ceremony coincided with the processing of the first uranium inventory, about 1 500 kg of eluted uranium, ready for precipitation, calcining, and packaging.

Lotus said mill commissioning was progressing well, with feed rates and grades from stockpiled ore meeting expectations. Works on expanding the tailings storage facility were also under way. 

"We continue to make terrific progress in commissioning the plant and increasing mill throughput, and we are on track to achieve steady state 200 000 lb a month – 2.4-million pounds a year – production in early CY2026," said Lotus MD Greg Bittar.

"Beyond the mill, the extensive commissioning work that the team has completed throughout the processing plant with the processing of high grade ore over the past 14 days means we now have uranium inventory ready for the last stages of precipitation, drying and packaging. Final plant commissioning, focused on control system automation of the drying and packaging circuit, is being completed.

"We have ramped up the work on the tailings storage facility infrastructure to form the foundation for future lifts to accommodate the 10-year life-of-mine," he reported.

Operations are currently ramping up using about 300 000 t of stockpile ore, about three months of mill feed, while awaiting the transition to freshly mined material in the fourth quarter of 2025. Commissioning is now focusing on automating the drying and packaging systems, steps needed before actual yellowcake production can begin. 

Approvals are also in place. Malawi’s Environment Protection Authority granted the environmental and social impact assessment certificate for Kayelekera in early August.