Bannerman Energy and CNNC Overseas have approved the Etango uranium project in Namibia for full-scale construction following a positive final investment decision by their joint venture. The partners have selected the Etango-8 development, designed to produce an average of approximately 3.5 million pounds of uranium oxide (U3O8) annually. Commissioning and first production are targeted for 2028, but mining and processing have not yet reached commercial operation.
Bannerman owns 55% and CNNC Overseas Limited 45% of the incorporated Etango joint venture. The venture holds a 95% interest in the project, with the remaining 5% held on a loan-carried basis by Namibia’s One Economy Foundation. These are two separate layers of ownership: Bannerman’s percentage in the joint venture cannot be treated as a direct 55% interest in the entire project without accounting for the venture’s 95% stake.
Etango is located in Namibia’s Erongo Region, around 30 kilometres south-east of Swakopmund. The investment decision covers the Etango-8 design supported by the earlier feasibility study. Its expected average output of 3.5 million pounds U3O8 a year is a production forecast for the planned mine and processing circuit, not material that is already being extracted or sold.
The venture estimates pre-production capital spending at approximately US$353 million, with a stated accuracy range of ±10%. It reports that around US$64 million had already been incurred by the end of September 2026 and that approximately US$295 million of cash held by the joint venture is available to finance the remaining forecast expenditure. The cash figure is a funding balance, not a second capital budget to be added to the US$353 million estimate.
Bannerman says development is fully funded without project debt, supported by the joint venture arrangement and its own corporate funding. That addresses the stated financing plan for construction and ramp-up, although the estimate remains exposed to contractor prices, procurement, delivery performance and process commissioning. The decision authorises a broader construction programme; it does not eliminate schedule and operating risks.
Preparatory works have been progressing since January 2024. Bannerman reported that bulk earthworks were approximately 99% complete at the end of September, while concrete construction advanced around the primary crusher and dry plant. Those milestones concern initial infrastructure and foundations rather than an already commissioned processing line. The transition to full-scale construction will require equipment installation across both ore preparation and the wet processing circuit.
The mine is designed around open pit extraction followed by acid heap leaching. Ore must be crushed and prepared for placement on engineered leach pads; the acidic solution then percolates through the ore to dissolve uranium-bearing material, which is recovered from collected process liquor. The selected operating method depends on controlling material size, solution chemistry, irrigation, drainage and containment across the leaching cycle.
Bannerman previously ran a heap leach demonstration programme using Etango ore, providing technical evidence for its 2022 definitive feasibility study. The current final investment decision uses the Etango-8 production configuration. A separate 2024 scoping study examined a possible expansion to annual production of 6.7 million pounds U3O8, but that larger scheme has not been authorised by the present decision.
Aggregate for the heap leach drainage system was approximately halfway through planned production at the end of September, according to the earlier construction update. Correctly specified drainage material helps distribute and recover the leaching solution while supporting the engineered pad structure. Completion of aggregate production is one step in building that system, not proof that the heap leach pads have been commissioned or that uranium recovery has begun.
The first phase of Etango’s permanent water pipeline was around 90% complete at the September reporting date. Bannerman reached an agreement with NamWater in June for permanent supply, and work has also continued on the proposed Walvis Bay acid storage and handling facilities. Water and acid logistics are operational dependencies for heap leaching; their contracts and infrastructure need to be completed and tested before stable mine production can be demonstrated.
Following the investment decision, the joint venture expects to increase full-scale construction activity over the coming months. Procurement and installation must bring the crusher, ore transfer system, leach pads, solution ponds, water supply and recovery plant into an integrated working circuit. The 2028 target includes commissioning and first production, not a guarantee that annual output will immediately reach the forecast 3.5 million pounds.
Bannerman has also appointed Danie van Aswegen, previously its Namibia chief operating officer, as chief executive of Bannerman Mining Resources Namibia. The company refers to a cornerstone offtake framework on market-based terms, but has not published a volume and price schedule sufficient to calculate guaranteed sales revenue. Any eventual deliveries will depend on production ramp-up, product qualification and the applicable sales arrangements.
The Etango decision follows years of feasibility work, financing and early construction, establishing authority to continue with the chosen full-scale scheme. The company’s immediate operational evidence will come from the pace of plant installation, completion of water and reagent infrastructure, and progress against its disclosed capital budget. The intended 2028 first-production date remains a forecast until those activities are completed and the processing circuit has been commissioned.
