Elevate Uranium Limited Advances Namibia Operations with 60-Tonne U-p-grade™ Pilot for 50% Cost Reductions in Uranium Processing
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
at
8:19 am
Elevate Uranium Limited is advancing its U‐pgrade™ pilot plant demonstration in Namibia. Shipping in August with operations starting November 2025, the facility will process 60 tonnes of uranium ore continuously. This pivotal step validates a cost-effective upgrade process with promising potential for future commercial success.
Elevate Uranium Ltd has detailed a major advancement in its uranium beneficiation efforts with the imminent shipment of its U-pgrade™ Pilot Plant to Namibia. The facility is set to complete its final factory tests in Perth before being shipped in early August 2025, with arrival expected in October and operations beginning as early as November. The pilot facility is designed to process at least 60 tonnes of uranium ore from the Company’s Namibian projects, providing a critical opportunity to validate the scalability and continuous operability of its proprietary U-pgrade™ process.
The U-pgrade™ process represents a potential industry breakthrough by concentrating uranium by a factor of 50, increasing ore grade from 93 ppm to around 5,000 ppm U3O8, and rejecting nearly 98% of the ore mass before leaching. This results in a high-grade concentrate constituting only about 2% of the initial mass, while also reducing acid consumption and lowering both capital and operating costs by an estimated 50% compared to conventional methods. Such technical improvements are essential for demonstrating the process’s commercial applicability and cost-effectiveness across various surficial uranium projects in Namibia and Australia.
Operational oversight in Namibia will be managed directly by the Company’s Senior Metallurgist, who is relocating from Perth to ensure that the plant’s reassembly and functioning meet the required standards. Data collected from approximately four to five months of plant operation, including extensive QAQC analyses, will play a pivotal role in further technical studies as the Company moves closer to the commercialization phase.
The news presents a mixed sentiment for investors. On the bullish side, the successful deployment of the pilot plant signals meaningful progress in technology validation, potentially transforming the way uranium ores are upgraded. These technical achievements could lower costs dramatically and improve margins, offering a competitive edge in the resource processing industry. Conversely, the bearish perspective emphasizes inherent operational risks, including potential delays during plant assembly and the rigorous nature of pilot testing in real-world conditions. Additionally, the financial benefits rely on the plant achieving its technical milestones within the projected timelines, and any setbacks could impact future milestones and investor confidence.
Overall, Elevate Uranium Ltd’s swift progress in demonstrating its U-pgrade™ process marks a significant development in the resource sector, with the upcoming pilot plant operation poised to provide crucial insights into the economic and technical viability of this innovative technology.