Muntanga East Test Results Strengthen Zambia’s Uranium Development Case

New metallurgical test results from the Muntanga East uranium deposit in Zambia have strengthened the technical case for heap-leach processing at Atomic Eagle’s 100%-owned Muntanga Uranium Project.

The test work, conducted by Mintek in South Africa on diamond drill core from Muntanga East, confirmed uranium recoveries of up to 86% in bottle-roll testing while maintaining exceptionally low acid consumption.

The results are important because the testing was carried out on lower-grade mineralisation than has historically been evaluated at several other deposits within the project.

Atomic Eagle said the findings demonstrate that the favourable metallurgy already identified elsewhere across Muntanga also extends to the newly defined Muntanga East deposit.

The composite samples had an average uranium head grade of approximately 167 parts per million U3O8.

Bottle-roll testing produced uranium recoveries of approximately 86% and 82% after 25 days of leaching, with acid consumption remaining at around 3 kilograms per tonne.

Uranium dissolution was effectively complete after approximately seven days, indicating relatively rapid leaching characteristics.

Column-leach testing produced recoveries of about 81% for both composite samples under conditions designed to represent heap-leach processing.

The results also showed that approximately 80% of the uranium contained in the tested material occurs in minerals that readily dissolve under conventional acid heap-leach conditions.

For Atomic Eagle, the combination of recovery rates and low reagent consumption could be significant for the development economics of the wider project.

CEO Phil Hoskins said the results replicated the strong metallurgical performance demonstrated elsewhere at Muntanga and could allow lower-grade uranium mineralisation to be considered for economic recovery.

Muntanga East is also strategically positioned close to the project’s central resource area.

The deposit’s shallow mineralisation, proximity to existing resources and favourable processing characteristics could allow it to contribute to the potential scale of the overall project.

Atomic Eagle’s latest mineral resource estimate includes an inferred Muntanga East resource of 3.1 million tonnes grading 252 ppm U3O8 and containing approximately 1.7 million pounds of U3O8. The broader Muntanga project has a substantial uranium resource base across several deposits.

The company is now incorporating the Muntanga East metallurgical results into ongoing technical studies.

That work will be important in determining how the newly identified mineralisation could fit into a future development plan and whether additional resources can be incorporated into the project’s mine and processing strategy.

The latest results also build on earlier metallurgical work at Muntanga.

Previous test work across the wider project demonstrated uranium recoveries of 90% or more at the main Muntanga and Dibbwi East deposits, together with relatively low acid consumption and rapid recovery through heap-leach processing.

The continued confirmation of heap-leach performance is significant because it supports a relatively straightforward processing route for the project’s uranium mineralisation.

For Zambia, the development is another indication of the country’s potential to expand its position in the uranium market alongside its established copper industry.

Global interest in uranium has increased as countries reassess nuclear power’s role in energy security and low-carbon electricity generation. For resource-rich African countries, this is creating renewed interest in uranium exploration and development.

Muntanga East is therefore not simply an exploration story.

The latest results move the project another step towards understanding how its uranium resources could potentially be processed at scale.

The next stage will be to integrate the metallurgical data with resource, mining and economic studies.

If the technical work continues to support the project’s development case, Muntanga could become an important addition to Zambia’s emerging uranium sector.