Updated Scoping Study Results for the Lake Maitland Uranium Project

Toro Energy Limited (ASX: TOE) (‘the Company’ or ‘Toro’) is pleased to announce the improved results of its Scoping Study for the proposed stand-alone Lake Maitland Uranium-Vanadium operation (Study), located approximately 105 km southeast of Wiluna township in Western Australia and 730 km NE of Perth.

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HIGHLIGHTS

Excellent financial outcomes

• NPV pre-tax of approximately A$832.8M at a discount rate of 8%
• Pre-tax IRR of 48%
• Payback period of 2.1 years
• Total EBITDA of A$2,303.3M
• Total undiscounted cash flow of A$1,930M pre-tax
• Average EBITDA of A$131.6M per annum
• Average undiscounted cash flow of A$110.3M per annum
• Estimates assume a US$85.00/lb U3O8, US$5.67/lb V2O5 price and a US$:A$0.70 exchange rate

Modest CAPEX

• US$203.7M (or A$291M) capital cost estimate including 20% contingency and 15% EPCM
• Includes all infrastructure for the proposed stand-alone Lake Maitland operation, including:
  • entire processing facility with beneficiation plant and ability to produce both a uranium and vanadium product; and
  • all mining & administration related infrastructure, access roads, power plant, borefield and a reverse osmosis desalinisation plant for water supply
• A$143.0M non-processing infrastructure build cost (A$105.7M excluding contingency and EPCM)
• A$148.1M processing infrastructure build cost (A$107.3M excluding contingency and EPCM)

Low operating cost estimates

• C1* Cash operating cost of US$17.28/lb U3O8 over the first 7 years
• C1* Cash operating cost of US$24.78/lb U3O8 over Life of Mine (LoM)
• All In Sustaining Cost (AISC)# of US$22.58/lb U3O8 over the first 7 years
• All In Sustaining Cost (AISC)# of US$30.55/lb U3O8 over LoM
• Robust estimated operating margins
• C1 (US$17.28) and AISC (US$24.78) for the first 7 years provides Toro with very strong margins during the initial payback period

Mining and Production

• Mine life of approximately 17.5 years
• Low average strip ratio of 1.17
• Process approximately 1.95Mt of ore per annum (front of beneficiation plant)
• Annual average production approximately 1.3Mlbs U3O8 (100% Indicated Resource) and 0.7Mlbs V2O5 (100% Inferred Resource) (refer to precautionary statement above and discussion on production schedule below for further details)
• Total production approximately 22.8Mlbs of U3O8 and 11.9Mlbs of V2O5 (refer to resource table for the Wiluna Uranium Project contained in Annexure A for further information as well as discussion on production schedule below

The Study was completed by mining engineers at SRK Consulting Australasia (SRK) and metallurgical and processing engineers at Strategic Metallurgy and highlights the project’s potential to deliver robust financial returns. On 17 January 2024 Toro announced that the Company would refresh the Study given the improved U3O8 commodity price.

Management Commentary

Commenting on the impressive outcomes of the refreshed Lake Maitland Scoping Study Toro’s Executive Chairman, Richard Homsany, said

“The Board is delighted to report these improved Scoping Study results for the Lake Maitland deposit which substantiate the quality and global significance of Toro’s uranium assets. These strong financial estimates and outcomes are headlined by an approximate 37% uplift in NPV pre-tax to a base case of A$832.8M, with a very short 2.1 year payback period and strong free cash-flow projections.

Lake Maitland comprises a significant amount of the Wiluna Uranium Project’s resources, and these revised outcomes further demonstrate Lake Maitland’s stand-alone viability and transformational effect on the potential economics of the entire Wiluna Uranium Project. Despite allowing for an increase in costs of 8% since the previous October 2022 study, Lake Maitland’s potential viability remains very impressive at current uranium prices.

The Scoping Study demonstrates Lake Maitland’s potential to be brought into production and capacity to generate significant returns when regulatory settings align. Given the global supply chain issues surrounding uranium, the strong global mandate for decarbonisation and the large potential investment returns for uranium projects here in WA, especially at Toro’s Lake Maitland, policy changes at the State government level that will facilitate project development and unlock the considerable inherent value in WA’s uranium industry are indubitably warranted.

Our vision for the future development of Lake Maitland and Wiluna continues to be supported by a strengthening global uranium market, and these latest outcomes further position Lake Maitland as an asset of global significance, underpinned by:

• Pre-tax NPV8 of A$832.8M
• Excellent 48% IRR
• Short payback period of 2.1 years
• Low C1 operating cost of US$17.28/lb U3O8 in years 1 to 7 when high grade uranium resource is being processed
• Strong life of mine C1 operating cost of only US$24.78/lb U3O8
• Low AISC cost of US$22.58/lb U3O8 in years 1 to 7 when high grade uranium resource is being processed
• Strong life of mine AISC cost of only US$30.55/lb U3O8
• Modest total CAPEX of US$149M plus 20% for contingency and 15% for EPCM over a 17.5 year mine life producing a total of 22.8Mlbs U3O8 and 11.9 Mlbs V2O5.
• Total EBITDA of $2,303.3M
• Total undiscounted cash flow of A$1,903.3M pre-tax – average >$2M per week

With project optimisation work streams continuing, Toro remains confident that further improvements to economics will be realised - largely driven by Lake Maitland’s close proximity to Toro’s 100% owned Centipede-Millipede and Lake Way uranium deposits within Wiluna. The potential integration of additional resources from these deposits will likely increase the production at Lake Maitland. This evaluation work is presently ongoing and we look forward to reporting updates in due course.”

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This article includes content from Toro Energy, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.

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