Name of the Project
Madaouela uranium project.

Location
Agadez region, northern Niger.

Project Owner/s
Mineral resources company GoviEx.

GoviEx holds 80% in COMIMA SA, the Nigerien company established to develop the project, and the Nigerien government 20%, of which 10% represents a free-carry interest.

Project Description
The project hosts one of the biggest uranium resources in the world, with 100-million pounds of uranium in measured and indicated mineral resources, and inferred resources of 20-million pounds of uranium.

The mineral resources comprise the Miriam, M&M, MSNE, MYVE, MSEE and MSCE sandstone-hosted uranium deposits.

The project is based on a self-sustaining operation, including process plant and renewable power supply, without any reliance on third-party facilities.

Mining operations are planned to be based on standard truck-and-shovel openpit mining for the Miriam deposit at one-million tonnes a year of ore feed to the process plant.

The M&M and MSNE-Maryvonne deposits are planned to be mined as two separate underground room-and-pillar operations. M&M will be mined first, after the completion of the Miriam openpit operation, with MSNE-Maryvonne to be mined after M&M.

At both underground operations, the mine development and ore-production operations are planned to be mined using conventional drill-and-blast methods. The process plant is designed around two-stage acid leaching to maximise uranium and molybdenum recovery while reducing overall acid consumption. Plant feed is designed at one-million tonnes a year, with ore initially crushed before milling.

Life-of-mine uranium production is estimated at 50.8-million pounds of uranium, averaging 2.67-million pound of uranium a year over 19 years.

Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to create up to 800 skilled and semiskilled jobs over its forecast 20-year mine life. Madaouela is also expected to contribute substantial royalty payments and taxes to the Nigerien government.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $140-million and an internal rate of return of 13.3%.

Capital Expenditure
$343-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
GoviEx Uranium and its subsidiary GoviEx Niger have started arbitration proceedings against the Niger government under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of Other States.

The companies started the arbitration pursuant to a clause set out in the Mining Convention signed by GoviEx Niger and the State in May 2007.

In July, the Niger Ministry of Mines informed GoviEx Niger of its decision to withdraw the company’s mining rights under a mining permit granted to GoviEx Niger for the Madaouéla project. Later that month, the Niger Council of Ministers issued three decrees withdrawing the mining permit, and abrogating the decrees granting the mining permit and approving the mining convention, GoviEx has indicated.

GoviEx and its subsidiary consider the withdrawal decision and withdrawal decrees as a breach of the State’s obligations under the mining convention, the mining code and the Niger civil code.

Over the past year-and-a-half, the companies have received expressions of interest of more than $200-million for project-related debt finance, started social and environmental due diligence with a prospective lender, updated the project’s environmental- and social-impact assessment, and started front-end engineering design and initial groundworks, including the construction of an access road.

GoviEx states that, with the recent recovery in uranium prices, the project is poised for development and the companies have started to advance despite the political changes in Niger since the coup d’état of July 2023.

GoviEx asserts that the State’s withdrawal of its rights to the project will have a negative impact on the economic and social development of the region.

The company and its subsidiary have attempted to settle their dispute with the State amicably, including through initiating a local administrative recourse before the Niger President. It states, however, that the State has not been willing to engage.

Notwithstanding the start of this arbitration, the companies say they remain committed to engaging constructively with the State to resolve the dispute.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
SRK Consulting and SGS Bateman (feasibility); and Endeavour Financial (financial adviser).

Contact Details for Project Information
GoviEx Uranium, tel +1 604 681 5529 or email info@goviex.com.