Langer Heinrich Mine’s capital expenditure increased by 35.4% to N$113.6 million in the first quarter of the 2027 financial year, despite a 19% decline in uranium production and rising operating costs.
According to Paladin Energy Ltd’s quarterly report for the period ended 30 September 2026, capital expenditure increased from N$83.9 million in the previous quarter as the company continued investing in mine development and expanding access to higher-grade uranium ore.
The mine also incurred N$102.1 million in costs associated with mining and stockpiling low-grade ore, alongside N$103.8 million in capitalised stripping costs to remove waste material and access future mining areas. These amounts were excluded from the reported capital expenditure.
The increased investment comes as uranium production declined to 1.00 million pounds during the quarter, compared with 1.23 million pounds in the preceding quarter, largely due to planned maintenance and ore characteristics that affected processing performance.
The decline in production pushed the mine’s cost of production up 19.4% to US$61.60 per pound, from US$51.60 per pound in the previous quarter.
Despite the production setback, uranium sales reached 1.16 million pounds at an average realised price of US$79.40 per pound, compared with US$70.60 in the previous quarter, reflecting stronger uranium prices and a higher proportion of market-related sales.
“During the quarter, LHM sold 1.16Mlb U₃O₈ at an average realised price of US$79.4/lb reflecting increasing uranium prices and a higher proportion of market-related sales during the quarter,” Paladin said.
The company reported that 400,000 pounds of uranium remained outstanding under its uranium product loan facilities as at 30 September 2026, providing flexibility to meet customer delivery commitments.
Mining operations remained concentrated at the J Pit, where 7.73 million tonnes of material were mined during the quarter as the company continued removing overburden to access the main uranium orebody.
“All mining activity was focused on the J pit, progressing development towards the main orebody whilst stripping topsoil and waste to open up access to primary ore. This will continue to progress throughout FY2027,” the company said.
Paladin said mining would progressively move into the lower southern benches of the J Pit, where higher ore grades and improved metallurgical recovery rates are expected to support increased production and lower operating costs.
The company reported an improvement in production performance during September as mining progressed and plant throughput and feed conditions strengthened.
Paladin expects uranium production to increase during the second half of the financial year as access to higher-grade ore improves and processing recovery rates strengthen.
Despite the weaker quarterly performance and higher production costs, the company maintained its full-year uranium production guidance of between 5.1 million and 5.6 million pounds.
It also retained its targeted production cost of US$44 to US$48 per pound for FY2027, substantially below the US$61.60 per pound recorded during the September quarter.
Paladin said Langer Heinrich remained on track to meet its annual production and cost targets, although it continued to monitor potential supply-chain disruptions arising from geopolitical developments.
