ORANO MINING NAMIBIA

Orano Mining Namibia is part of the ORANO Group, a reliable and competitive long-term uranium supplier with a large volume of reserves.  The group has more than twenty year’s worth of production visibility, and thus guarantees its customers a long-term supply of uranium for the purpose of electricity production.

Orano launched a Definitive Feasibility Study for its Trekkopje Mine in 2025, following the successful conclusion of the Pre-Feasibility Study in 2024. The first phase of work consisted in assessing the condition of the equipment and installations maintained under Care and Maintenance, with the support of specialized experts and equipment manufacturers. The results of this assessment were very positive and indicated that only limited efforts and expenditures would be required to restore the plant for a potential restart. The second phase aimed at improving the geological understanding of the deposit and increasing the volume of indicated resources. A major drilling campaign was launched and completed in 2025, comprising of 724 boreholes and a total of 15 200 m drilled. The updated geological resource model will be fully integrated into the feasibility study. The third phase will consist of completing the full feasibility study by the end of 2026. As part of this process, Orano plans to construct and operate a pilot plant in 2026 in order to validate the technical assumptions retained for the feasibility study and to confirm the overall economic viability of the project. Subject to the successful completion of this final phase, Orano Mining Namibia intends to seek an internal “go-to-mine” decision by the end of 2026. This decision would allow the launch of the remaining detailed engineering studies, as well as the completion of the outstanding construction works on the MAXI site, including the plant front-end and back-end components. Orano’s Erongo Desalination Plant had a milestone year in 2025, achieving 15 years of production of potable water for the Erongo Region with no Lost Time Injury (LTI), and a record year with the production of 17.59 million m³ potable water, supporting the sustainability of mining, industry and local authorities in the coastal Erongo Region.

The ORANO Group has a diverse portfolio of mining activities, such as exploration programs in Canada, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan; and mining projects in different stages of development such as Zu Zuuvch Ovoo  in Mongolia, and the Trekkopje Mine in Namibia, which is under Care and Maintenance since July 2013. 

ORANO has operating mines in Canada (McArthur River and Cigar Lake operated by Cameco), the McClean Lake processing mill, and in Kazakhstan (Katco). Lastly, the group has dismantled installations and remediated sites in France, Gabon, Niger, the USA and Canada. It ensures the remediation and environmental monitoring in compliance with very strict environmental standards. ORANO’s mining activities are driven by the ambition of achieving profitable, socially responsible, environment-friendly growth with the focus on process development and optimisation, on safety, occupational health and on protection of the environment.

ORANO supplies high added-value products and services to support the operation of the global nuclear fleet. The company is present throughout the entire nuclear cycle, from uranium mining to spent fuel recycling, including nuclear reactor design and operating services. ORANO is recognized by utilities around the world for its expertise, its skills in cutting-edge technologies and its dedication to the highest level of safety. ORANO’s 40 000 employees are helping to build tomorrow’s energy model: supplying ever safer, cleaner and more economical energy to the greatest number of people. 

The Trekkopje Mine is situated 70 km northeast of Swakopmund in the Erongo Region. Since 2005, the calcrete-hosted deposit has been developed in three phases, as it presents a technical challenge due to its low uranium content and the use of alkaline heap leaching. While the mine remains under Care and Maintenance, Orano will consider mining the Trekkopje deposit once the recovery in the uranium market materializes at the required level for a sustainable period, and against the background of the Orano Group portfolio and long-term supply contracts. The fact that 80% of the investments to develop the mine have already been made, and that the advanced processing knowledge acquired through metallurgical testing has realized further potential for efficiency improvements will assist in that regard.

Orano’s Erongo Desalination Plant (EDP) remains an important contributor to the supply of potable water in the Erongo Region, providing a substantial portion of the supply of Swakopmund, the uranium mines and other industries. During 2023, the EDP achieved several milestones, 13 years LTI free operation, the highest single month of water production in November 1 257 807m³, and the highest single day of 51 241m³ water produced on 7 November 2023. This contributed to the achievement of the highest cumulative annual production for a calendar year of 13 796 531 m³, and overall production milestone since commissioning in 2010, of 100 million m³ of potable water produced.

ORANO has engaged with stakeholders at local, regional and national level in the areas of economic development, education, culture and sport and complies with the Namibian Government’s HARAMBEE Prosperity Plan. The company is committed to Namibia’s development and continuously implements it’s established corporate social responsibility programmes.