Lotus Resources Limited says its steady-state production at Kayelekera Uranium Mine in Karonga District will be delayed because of acid supply challenges, which have affected ramping up production.
In an update, the company said it was expecting to achieve steady-state production of 200 000 pounds per month by March 2026, but the plan was affected by acid supply challenges.
The firm has, however, indicated that plans to commission its onsite acid plant in first quarter of this year remain on schedule only that production ramp up to the stated levels is unlikely to be achieved during the quarter.
Reads part of the update: “While the target of achieving nameplate production during March 2026 remains, the issue of acid availability will most likely delay achieving full month steady state uranium production, which is now forecast to occur in the second quarter of 2026.”
Lotus Resources Limited managing director Greg Bittar is quoted in the update as having said they are currently resolving the acid supply chain logistics and progressing other initiatives to mitigate supply risks of other key reagents to enable ramp up of production.
“While we have made steady operational progress across the mine and plant, the acid supply challenges resulted in delays in ramping up production and we have adjusted our forecast,” he said.
Initially, the firm projected that the acid plant will be in operational by the first quarter of 2026 to deal with its acid supply constraints and save from acid imports-related costs.
The update comes four months after Lotus Resources Limited restarted the mine in August 2025 while acknowledging that operational costs will be high during the initial stages because it will run using diesel generators and imported sulphuric acid for its operations.
In an interview on Tuesday, geoscience expert in minerals, mining and metals Ignatius Kamwanje said despite the delay, progress at Kayelekera Mine is impressive and a major boost to the economy.
“Before Kayerekera Mine was closed in 2014, mining sector contribution to the gross domestic product [GDP] was at 10 percent, but it dropped to just one percent,” he said.
Chamber of Mines and Energy national coordinator Grain Malunga said on Tuesday they expect the mining sector’s contribution to GDP to grow to 12 percent by 2027 when Kayelekera Uranium Mine and other two mines are in full operation.
“We expect the mining sector contribution to GDP to be not less than 12 percent in two years’ time when three projects, Lindian Resources Limited’s Kangankunde, Globe Metals’ Kanyika Mine and Kayerekera Mine are fully operational,” he said.
Lotus Resources Limited currently has four binding sale arrangements for up to 3.8 million pounds of uranium.
In July 2024, Lotus Resources Limited signed a mining development agreement with the Malawi Government which, among others, saw Lilongwe owning 15 percent stake in the mine.
Mining sector growth in 2025 was forecast at 5.3 percent, slightly higher than 4.8 percent in 2024.
