Norasa faces fresh test
A uranium mine in Namibia that was expected to produce 5.2 million pounds of uranium oxide a year at a development cost of US$432.8 million remains unbuilt 11 years after its feasibility study was completed.
Asarian Energy is returning to drilling as it seeks to revive the long-delayed Norasa project in the Erongo Region.
The company, which adopted its new name in August 2026, is reassessing the project under chief executive John Borshoff. It has begun with plans for a 4,500-metre drilling programme at the Namibplaas deposit.
Approved on 7 October, the programme will involve 17 holes and is expected to begin in late October or early November.
The latest work follows years of shifting development expectations for a project whose prospects have been closely tied to movements in the international uranium market.
When Forsys Metals released Norasa’s definitive feasibility study in March 2015, it presented the project as a potentially profitable uranium operation comprising the Valencia and Namibplaas deposits.
The study, completed by engineering consultancy Amec Foster Wheeler, estimated mineral reserves of 90.7 million pounds of uranium oxide and proposed processing 11.2 million tonnes of ore a year.
The mine was projected to produce about 77.8 million pounds over 15 years, averaging 5.2 million pounds annually.
Based on an assumed uranium selling price of US$65 a pound, the study estimated an after-tax net present value of US$383.4 million, an internal rate of return of 26% and a payback period of 4.4 years from the start of production.
The estimated development cost of US$432.8 million represented a substantial investment, but Forsys considered the project's technical and economic prospects a basis for attracting financing and strategic partners.
The feasibility study envisaged about 24 months between the start of detailed engineering and the commencement of plant production, provided suitable financing could be secured.
