Paladin Energy halts uranium mining in Namibia due to heavy rainfall

Australian uranium producer Paladin Energy said on Friday it had temporarily halted operations at its Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia due to heavy rainfall in the country, sending its shares to an over one-week low.

As a direct consequence of the severe weather event, access to the mine has been severely impeded and all activities have been put on hold, Paladin said.

The Langer Heinrich mine is 75% owned by the company and is a significant contributor to its uranium production.

Shares of Australia’s biggest pure-play uranium miner as per market value fell as much as 8.9% to hit its lowest level since March 13, as of 2339 GMT, and were on track for their weakest session since January 28.

In December, the mine was restarted after a planned shutdown in November to undergo plant maintenance activities and a number of improvement works.

Along with the shutdown, Paladin had slashed its annual production forecast to 3.0–3.6 million pounds from 4.0-4.5 million, citing operational challenges and delays in ramping up production.

Paladin said on Friday the full impact of the weather event and disruption to production would be assessed when conditions have stabilized.

(By Adwitiya Srivastava; Editing by Rashmi Aich)