Lotus Resources Limited (Lotus), an ASX-listed uranium developer, has completed a scoping study which indicates that its Letlhakane Uranium Project (Letlhakane) in Botswana will be a long-life project.

It said in a statement on September 19, Lotus said the project has the potential to produce a minimum of 3mn pounds (MLbs) of uranium yearly over at least 15 years.

The Perth-based company is developing the Botswana project as it plans to restart production at its Kayelekera Uranium Project in Malawi in 2025.

It noted that an independent assessment determined Letlhakane’s geology is favourable for an in-situ recovery operation, which could positively impact overall operational expenditure.

Lotus has initiated trade-off studies and is progressing a mineral resource estimate update for the project in Africa’s best ranked mining jurisdiction.

Greg Bittar, the chief executive, said Letlhakane and Kayelekera position the company as a potential producer of around 5.5Mlb per year, which can make it one of the biggest uranium stocks on the ASX.

“Our optimisation programs have delivered promising results to potentially decrease the cash cost from $42/lb. It is also encouraging to note the ‘blue sky’ potential of this project if the uranium price increases, as a $100/lb price could see 65Mlbs of uranium for recovery, growing to 83Mlbs if we include low-grade stockpiles at the tail end of operations,” he said.