Australia's Deep Yellow Delays Final Investment Decision on Namibia's Tumas Uranium Mine

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 16, Australian uranium development company Deep Yellow announced that, due to continued weakness in equity financing markets, it has decided to postpone the final investment decision (FID) for the Tumas uranium project in Namibia, originally scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026, to a date after that quarter. The company will continue to use existing cash reserves to fund the ongoing civil and concrete works while advancing project optimization studies, economic assessments, and financing efforts.

Two concrete contractors have already mobilized at the Tumas mining area, with construction covering the counter-current decantation, clarification, leaching, and ore beneficiation areas of the uranium processing plant. Approximately 170 tonnes of rebar have been installed on site, and the central foundations for seven counter-current decantation thickeners and one clarifier are ready for concrete pouring, with the related pouring operations already underway. Foundation construction for six leach tanks and two cold leach feed tanks is also progressing, with the foundation ring beams for the six leach tanks scheduled for completion by the end of December 2026.

Earthworks for the run-of-mine ore stockpile have been completed, and foundation works for the primary grinding, fine grinding, and coarse grinding equipment are under construction. At the Swakopmund precast yard outside the mining area, concrete retaining wall panels are being produced in parallel, with approximately 26% now completed. The project has also commissioned two concrete batching plants and a construction water supply storage system with a total capacity of 200,000 liters.

Deep Yellow has awarded four supporting service contracts to local Namibian contractors totaling NAD 42.1 million, covering fuel supply, raw water supply, waste management, and construction dust suppression. These contracts serve the current phase of civil works and construction support at the mining area. The company had previously awarded separate civil and concrete construction contracts.

Namibia's environmental regulatory authority renewed the environmental clearance certificates for the Tumas project and its associated water and power supply infrastructure on October 2. The environmental clearance for the mining area and water pipeline is valid until September 26, 2029, and the clearance for the power transmission line is valid until September 27, 2029. Deep Yellow has concurrently updated the relevant environmental management plans, and a cumulative total of 440 contractor and employee safety induction training sessions have been completed on site.

Deep Yellow is finalizing the Tumas project optimization plan and updated economic assessment, and plans to publish a comprehensive project progress report after this work is completed while continuing to advance financing arrangements. The company has not yet set a new date for the final investment decision.