Early works construction activities at Australia- and Namibia-listed Bannerman Energy's Etango uranium project, in Namibia, are progressing well, with the 24-month bulk earthworks contract, awarded in August, proceeding on schedule.

A critical enabler for uninterrupted delivery of the bulk earthworks activities is continuity of water supply on-site during the early works and full-scale construction phases.

Construction of the Etango water storage dam was successfully completed and filled with water in mid-November. Importantly, this occurred on schedule and prior to the next planned maintenance shutdown by water utility provider Namwater.

Similarly, the contract for construction of power facilities was awarded in October. The key elements of these works include construction of all the permanent 33 kV overhead powerlines on the Etango site and the temporary connection to the local electrical distributor in the Erongo region. Work on this contract is currently advancing ahead of schedule, says Bannerman.

Further, the first blast of the boxcut for the primary crusher site was achieved successfully in November. Two further blasts have been completed and excavation of the boxcut has started.

The contract for the blasting, crushing and placement of the drainage layer on the Etango heap leach pad has been adjudicated, with final clarifications in progress.

The civil concrete tender is currently in the market and closes in January.

Manufacture of the high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) tertiary crusher, a key identified long-lead item for the Etango process plant, is also ahead of schedule.

“The 12 months since the grant of our Etango mining licence in December 2023 has been a period of remarkable advancement, both on- and off-site. I believe the entire Bannerman team can take great pride in the safe, systematic and long-term focused manner in which the world-class Etango project has progressed over that time.

“I am delighted with the performance of our key contract partners. Their work to date has been undertaken safely and to a very high standard of delivery. Their output has firmly validated our selection of them as our preferred delivery partners for Etango," says Bannerman CEO Gavin Chamberlain.