Name of the Project
Madaouela uranium project.

Location
Agadez region, northern Niger.

Project Owner/s
GoviEx.

GoviEx holds 80% in COMIMA SA, the Nigerien company established to develop the project, and the Nigerien government 20%, of which 10% represents a free-carry interest.

Project Description
The project hosts one of the biggest uranium resources in the world, with 100-million pounds of uranium in measured and indicated mineral resources, and inferred resources of 20-million pounds of uranium.

The mineral resources comprise the Miriam, M&M, MSNE, MYVE, MSEE and MSCE sandstone-hosted uranium deposits.

The project is based on a self-sustaining operation, including process plant and renewable power supply, without any reliance on third-party facilities.

Mining operations are planned to be based on standard truck-and-shovel openpit mining for the Miriam deposit at one-million tonnes a year of ore feed to the process plant.

The M&M and MSNE-Maryvonne deposits are planned to be mined as two separate underground room-and-pillar operations. M&M will be mined first, after the completion of the Miriam openpit operation, with MSNE-Maryvonne to be mined after M&M.

At both underground operations, the mine development and ore-production operations are planned to be mined using conventional drill-and-blast methods. The process plant is designed around two-stage acid leaching to maximise uranium and molybdenum recovery while reducing overall acid consumption. Plant feed is designed at one-million tonnes a year, with ore initially crushed before milling.

Life-of-mine uranium production is estimated at 50.8-million pounds of uranium, averaging 2.67-million pound of uranium a year over 19 years.

Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to create up to 800 skilled and semiskilled jobs over its forecast 20-year mine life. Madaouela is also expected to contribute substantial royalty payments and taxes to the Nigerien government.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $140-million and an internal rate of return of 13.3%.

Capital Expenditure
$343-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The government of Niger issued GoviEx with a letter on July 5, stating that the company no longer had rights over the perimeter of the mining permit.

GoviEx has indicated that this decision does not follow the withdrawal procedure prescribed under the applicable mining code.

While the company is committed to maintaining transparency and continuing its engagement with government officials and stakeholders, it reserves the right to challenge the decision to withdraw the mining rights before the relevant national or international jurisdictions.

With the recent recovery in uranium prices, the Madaouela project was poised for development and the company had started to advance despite the political changes in Niger since the coup d’etat on July 2, 2023.

Over the past year, GoviEx received expressions of interest worth more than $200-million for project-related debt finance and updated its environmental- and social-impact assessment. It also started with social and environmental due diligence with a prospective lender; the front-end engineering design and initial ground works, including the construction of an access road, and exploitation.

In June, the company received its radiological certificate, a regulatory requirement before starting mining operations.

GoviEx believes that the Niger government’s decision to withdraw the mining rights will have a negative impact on the economic and social development of the region.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
SRK Consulting and SGS Bateman (feasibility); and Endeavour Financial (financial adviser).

Contact Details for Project Information
GoviEx Uranium, tel +1 604 681 5529 or email info@goviex.com.