ASX:BMN - A Momentous Year

Current progress at Etango

We released an announcement to the ASX yesterday providing an update on the construction early works in progress at Etango. For full details, you can read the announcement here, but to briefly summarise in a few bullets how key site activities are travelling leading into 2025:

The key 24-month bulk earthworks contract, which was awarded in August 2024, remains on schedule. The recent successful completion and filling of the water construction storage dam (see photo below) is a strong de-risking element by ensuring uninterrupted supply of water for these earthworks activities, irrespective of water supplier maintenance shutdowns, etc.

Completed construction water storage dam

The contract to build the project’s construction power facilities was awarded in October 2024. Work on this contract is currently advancing ahead of schedule. Key elements of this contract include the construction of permanent 33kV overhead powerlines on the Etango site as well as temporary connection to the local electrical distributor in the Erongo Region (see photo below).

33kV powerlines H-pole support structures being installed

The first blast of the box cut for the primary crusher site was achieved safely and successfully on 11 November 2024 (see photo below). Two further blasts have been completed and excavation of the box cut was commenced in line with schedule.

First blast being set off by Bannerman Mining Resource Namibia Managing Director, Mr Werner Ewald

The manufacturing of the High-Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR) tertiary crusher, a key identified long-lead item for the Etango process plant, has commenced and is currently ahead of schedule.
Supply contracts are already in place to cover construction water and power requirements throughout the entire Etango build schedule.
Negotiations on final supply contracts for life-of-mine operational water and power supply have progressed in line with requirements and are now at an advanced stage.
Our proposal to lease a site at the Port of Walvis Bay for the planned acid import/export facility has been approved by Namport, and the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) process for this facility has commenced.
The contract for the blasting, crushing, and placement of the drainage layer on the Etango heap leach pad has been adjudicated with final clarifications in progress.

This is what our ‘phased green light’ approach looks like in action – a gated approach to Etango development with phased approval of various construction works in line with advancement across broader project workstreams and financial capacity. It is enabled by our strong cash balance and flexible approach to project development.

This approach meant that following completion of the first two early works contracts in July – the construction water supply and site access road – development of Etango seamlessly transitioned into the next phase of early construction and long-lead order activities, thereby maintaining critical path timelines.

Systematically advancing the project in this manner best allows us to mitigate timing risks, and more importantly, to ensure that work is undertaken safely and to a high standard of delivery. All early works contracts are also fully funded from our existing cash reserves.

The emerging AI revolution

Demand for clean, reliable baseload power has spiked over the past few months, reacting to the surge in data centre energy requirements – a by-product of the emerging AI revolution. This AI arms race will need stable and secure sources of energy, and has prompted big tech companies such as Oracle, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta to reassess the role of nuclear energy in the global energy mix.

Meta’s most recent announcement evidences this change in sentiment for nuclear energy: they’ve released a request for proposals (RFP) to identify nuclear energy developers to help meet their AI innovation and sustainability objectives. They are targeting 1-4 gigawatts (GW) of new nuclear generation capacity in the US, partnering with others across the industry to bring new nuclear energy to the grid. Meta has advised that they are planning for their data center energy needs while simultaneously contributing to a reliable grid and advancing their sustainability commitments.

Apart from being another announcement from the tech industry, this announcement is interesting as they have opened it up to an RFP process, the first RFP we have seen from the tech industry for nuclear power. This allows Meta to receive engagement from several groups of SMR developers, who will have the opportunity to both sell their wares but also advise Meta what they will need in return. Given precedence has already been set on what a 2-way partnership would need to look like between the tech industry and SMR developers, the providers will now get the opportunity to say, ‘if you want the GW’s this is what we require in return’.

This is an important development, but what is exciting about this announcement from an investor perspective is the precedent this sets for other tech firms and industrial end users requiring SMR solutions for their decarbonisation objectives, to issue RFP’s to flag their intention rather than the tedious process of negotiating behind the scenes. This will give investors earlier visibility on the new wave of developments, the depth of demand and the breadth of counter parties willing to partner with SMR companies.

Importantly, the RFP process also provides the opportunity for collaborative proposals between utilities and SMR developers to optimise the availability of advanced SMR technologies and existing nuclear sites. Such collaborations are a key element in accelerating the commercial availability of SMR’s at scale and we hope this and further RFP’s provide a catalyst to this trend.

Meta has advised it is looking to identify developers that can help accelerate the availability of new nuclear generators and create sufficient scale to achieve material cost reductions by deploying multiple units, both to provide for Meta’s future energy needs and to advance broader industry decarbonisation. Meta believes working with partners who will ultimately permit, design, engineer, finance, construct, and operate these power plants will ensure the long-term thinking necessary to accelerate nuclear technology. They are committed to working across the industry to advance their sustainability commitments and transform the grid of the future.

The RFP qualification intake form closes on January 3, 2025, and initial RFP proposals are due by February 7, 2025.

Namibia’s new President-elect

In other exciting news, Namibia recently held their general election, and on 3 December 2024, voted their first female President-elect, Dr Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

As a candidate of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), Dr Nandi-Ndaitwah has been a trusted leader in Namibia since the country achieved independence in 1990. She has held several senior government roles, most recently appointed Vice President by the late President Hage Geingob in February 2024. Following the passing of Dr Geingob, she was named as SWAPO’s presidential candidate for the 2024 election, effectively passing the baton to Dr Nandi-Ndaitwah.

We were very pleased to see this seamless governmental process in Namibia, which already holds a long-established reputation as a politically stable and highly supportive mining jurisdiction.

Dr Nandi-Ndaitwah is very familiar with the Bannerman journey and has seen first-hand our decades-long commitment to local communities and the effective implementation of our ESG initiatives in Namibia. She was Minister for Environment & Tourism when we lodged the Etango ESIA and was the presiding Minister who subsequently issued us our Environmental Clearance.

Importantly, she also has long-established working relationships with key Bannerman personnel, including Managing Director in Namibia, Werner Ewald, Executive Chairman, Brandon Munro, during his time living in-country and our Chairperson in-country, Twapewa Kadikwa.

We look forward to cultivating even stronger ties with the Namibian government as construction of Etango progresses.

Omasa: our award-winning quarterly newsletter

Late last year, Omasa was launched by our Communications Coordinator, Emma Culver. Omasa is a quarterly newsletter aimed at keeping our employees and stakeholders in Namibia up-to-date on our progress at Etango along with other important corporate matters.

Response to this newsletter has been overwhelmingly positive. Omasa was not only nominated for, but placed second in, the Best Newsletter/Newspaper category at the South African Publication Forum Awards (after facing stiff competition from established publications including Nando’s and the City of Cape Town).

You can read the latest edition of Omasa here. If you are interested, we also welcome you to subscribe to future editions of Omasa here.

Holiday viewing

As we have done in previous years, here is a collation of the latest interviews and presentations that Brandon and I have done over the past few months, for your viewing leisure over the festive period.

Bannerman Energy and Contrarian Codex interview with Brandon Munro , December 2024

RIU Uranium Investment Day, November 2024

Nuclear Energy, Uranium and Bannerman Energy, November 2024

Bannerman Energy and Triangle Investor interview with Gavin Chamberlain, October 2024

JMM & Tribeca Nuclear Energy Forum, October 2024

Bannerman Energy – Strategically Positioned for Uranium Resurgence , September 2024