An update for Peninsula Energy’s (ASX: PEN; US-OTC: PENMF) producing Lance project in Wyoming lifts its contained uranium to 59 million lb., reinforcing its position as the largest single nuclear metal project in the United States by publicly disclosed and compliant resources.
Lance now hosts 15.5 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.05% uranium oxide (U3O8) for 16.2 million lb. contained U3O8 and 38.5 million inferred tonnes at 0.04% U3O8 for 41.7 million lb. U3O8, Peninsula reported on Friday. Though the resource only rose 1.7% over the previous amount from 2023, the producing Ross area gained almost 16% to 7.4 million lb. U3O8. Lance’s Kendrick and Barber targets aren’t yet producing.
“It doesn’t mean much yet because the resource was never the bottleneck,” Red Cloud Securities equity research head David Talbot said in comments emailed to The Northern Miner. “What matters is where the new pounds are.”
Shares in Peninsula fell almost 2% to A25.5¢ apiece in Sydney on Friday, before gaining almost 2% to A26¢ each on Monday, valuing the company at A$145.7 million (C$145 million). The stock has traded in a 12-month range of 23¢ to $1.07.
Production forecast pulled
After production started at Lance one year ago, ramp-up was moving more slowly than expected and in July Peninsula withdrew its 2026 production guidance of 400,000 to 500,000 lb. U3O8. due to low solution flow rates in its wellfields.
As a result, the company last week booked a US$50-million non-cash impairment expense, noting that earlier spending on mine Units 1, 2 and 3 is unlikely to generate enough future production to justify its recorded value.
The company maintains its 2027 guidance of 500,000 to 600,000 lb. U3O8.
Leading uranium producer
The update comes as Wyoming leads a revival in U.S. uranium mining, with most of the country’s producing mines located in the state. U.S. uranium production more than tripled last year to 2.1 million lb. U3O8 the highest level since 2017, according to the US. Energy Information Administration, as idled operations restarted and producers advanced plans to raise domestic supply.
The increase at Ross “is where Peninsula has focused its spending since it reset its plan in July, so better definition there supports the near-term plan,” Talbot said.
“We will continue systematic drilling across Lance, including further work at Kendrick, as we progressively improve our understanding and definition of the broader resource,” Peninsula Energy CEO George Bauk said in a release.
Lance, like most uranium mines in Wyoming use in-situ recovery (ISR), a method that involves injecting a solution underground through wells to separate uranium from ores, and then pumping the solution to the surface for processing. Lance is in northeast Wyoming, about 380 km north of state capital Cheyenne.
The test for Peninsula is if the main Unit 4 production area at Ross delivers the flow rates and head grades it was designed for, Talbot said. If it does, the larger Kendrick and Barber resources “give the company plenty to grow into,” he said.
Peninsula acquired the Lance/Sundance uranium project from PacMag Metals in 2007 and began commercial production in 2015. It suspended alkaline-based production in July 2019 to prepare for conversion to low-pH ISR, which it expected would improve uranium recovery and operating costs. Uranium recovery resumed in December 2024.
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