Peninsula Energy shares plunge on lower uranium production forecast
Peninsula Energy (ASX: PEN) saw its shares plummet 18% on Friday after lowering its uranium production forecast for the Lance project in Wyoming.
The Australian miner now expects the project to produce 600,000 lb. of uranium oxide (U3O8) during its ramp-up year in 2025, significantly below the earlier projections of 700,000 to 900,000 lb.
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The company attributed the revised guidance to delays in preconditioning the newly developed header house at Mine Unit 3, though it confirmed that these issues have been resolved.
CEO Wayne Heili said the setbacks are limited to the initial ramp-up phase and will not affect production targets for 2026 and 2027, which remain unchanged.
“While some aspects of the project development are slightly lagging earlier projections, it is pleasing to know there are no indications that the impacts will extend beyond the initial ramp-up phase,” Heili said in a news release.
The Lance project is slated to restart production before the end of next month and holds a resource of 53.7 million lb. of U3O8, positioning it as one of the largest uranium projects in the US.
Backed by a 2022 definitive feasibility study, the project requires a life-of-mine capital cost of $290.6 million. Stage 1 operations will need an upfront capital investment of $2.7 million, with wellfield replacement and sustaining capital expenditures of $16.3 million.
Peninsula Energy currently has a market capitalization of $142 million.
CEO to step down
Peninsula also announced Friday that Heili will step down from his CEO role next year.
Heili’s decision comes after “considerable reflection” and a desire to adopt a “more moderately paced lifestyle” than his current role demands, the company said.
Peninsula is also in the final stages of hiring a new chief operating officer and expects to announce the appointment soon.