Name of the Project
Lake Maitland uranium/vanadium project.

Location
About 105 km south-east of Wiluna township, in Western Australia.

Project Owner/s
Toro Energy.

Project Description
A scoping study has proposed the development of a standalone uranium operation with vanadium by-product as a potential viable alternative to Toro Energy’s previously proposed greater Wiluna uranium project.

The October 2022 study proposed the construction of a mine with a 17.5-year mine life, with average production of 1.3-million pounds and 700 000 pounds of vanadium.

The Lake Maitland pit optimisation successfully increased potential total production by eight-million pounds of uranium and 11.9-million pounds of vanadium.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an estimated pretax net present value (NPV), at an 8% discount rate, of A$610-million and an internal rate of return of 41%, with a payback of 2.5 years.

Capital Expenditure
A$270-million, including contingency and engineering, procurement and construction management.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Toro is updating the Lake Maitland scoping study using the latest commodity pricing.  

There is also significant potential upside in combining the other deposits – Lake Way, Millipede and Centipede – with Lake Maitland.

Toro has indicated that, with the strong financial metrics highlighted by the Lake Maitland uranium scoping study, and the expected transformational increase in NPV following a soon-to-be-completed refresh, it is the right time to consider demerging its noncore projects to refresh “solely on expediting the development of our globally significant uranium assets”.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
SRK Consulting Australasia (scoping study).

Contact Details for Project Information
Toro Energy, tel +61 8 9214 2100 or email info@toroenergy.com.au.