Australia- and Canada-listed Paladin Energy on Wednesday issued its 2026 financial year guidance for its Langer Heinrich uranium mine (LHM) in Namibia, projecting increased output as mining operations ramp up and the site transitions from processing stockpiled ore to primary mined feed.

The company expects to produce between 4.0-million and 4.4-million pounds of uranium oxide (U₃O₈) and sell between 3.8-million and 4.2-million pounds during the 2026 financial year. Cost of production is forecast between $44/lb and $48/lb, with capital and exploration spending projected between $26-million and $32-million.

The LHM operational ramp-up is scheduled for completion by the end of the 2026 financial year, with full mining and processing operations planned for the following fiscal year. Paladin said it would provide the 2027 financial year guidance in July next year.

The mine began the new financial year on July 1 with 2.2-million tonnes of medium-grade stockpiled ore and about 49% of its mining fleet in operation. The remaining fleet is expected to arrive by late 2025 and be commissioned in the second half of the financial year.

For the 2025 financial year, ended June 30, LHM produced 3.02-million pounds of U₃O₈, including 993 843 lb in the fourth quarter – a 33% increase quarter-on-quarter and the highest quarterly output since the restart. The mine also reported record crusher throughput of 1.17-million tonnes for the quarter and a plant recovery rate of 87%.

Sales for the full year totalled 2.71-million pounds at an average realised price of $65.7/lb. The fourth-quarter realised price was $55.6/lb, down from prior quarters owing to shipment timing and contract mix. Fourth-quarter unit production cost fell to $37.5/lb from $40.6/lb in the third quarter.

All customer delivery obligations were met, and Paladin added a new uranium sales agreement during the quarter, bringing the total to 13 agreements with Tier-1 customers in the US, Europe, and Asia.

“The Langer Heinrich team continued to deliver exceptional progress during the quarter as we recorded the highest production result since our restart in March 2024. The production result and all-time record crusher performance have been achieved off the back of a successful restart of mining operations, with mining now well established in the G pit area,” said COO Paul Hemburrow, who is set to take over as MD and CEO on September 1, succeeding Ian Purdy.

Meanwhile, at the Michelin project in Canada, winter drilling activities targeted zones near the main deposit, with results under review to guide FY2026 summer exploration. Full-year exploration spending at Michelin totalled $6.9-million

At the Patterson Lake South (PLS) project in Saskatchewan, the company received formal acceptance of its final environmental impact statement from the provincial government. Hemburrow noted that recent drilling at PLS delivered "the most significant radioactivity results ever recorded on the company’s tenements outside of the Triple R deposit".

Paladin ended the June quarter with $89-million in cash and an undrawn $50-million revolving debt facility.