Langer Heinrich tracks toward top of Paladin's FY26 uranium guidance

Paladin Energy's Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia lifted uranium oxide production to 1.23-million pounds in the December 2025 quarter, a 16% increase on the previous quarter's 1.07-million pounds, the company said. That took output for the first half of its 2026 financial year to 2.30-million pounds, tracking toward the top of a full-year guidance range of 4.0-million to 4.4-million pounds of U3O8.

Prices firm alongside output

Sales volumes jumped to 1.43-million pounds in the quarter from 0.53-million pounds previously, and the realised price rose to $71.80 a pound from $67.40. Unit production costs eased slightly to $39.70 a pound, from $41.60, leaving the year-to-date average at $40.50 a pound. Paladin ended the quarter with $278.4-million in cash and investments plus an undrawn $70-million revolving credit facility, giving it headroom to fund the final stages of its restart.

A mine back from care and maintenance

Langer Heinrich, roughly 80km east of Swakopmund in the Namib Desert, was placed on care and maintenance in 2018 when uranium prices collapsed and restarted production in 2024 as the nuclear fuel market recovered. The steady climb in quarterly output shows the mine moving past the teething problems typical of a restart, with processing shifting from old stockpiled ore toward more consistent primary mined feed.

What it means for Namibia

Namibia is now the world's third-largest uranium producer, and Langer Heinrich's recovery matters well beyond Paladin's own balance sheet. Uranium royalties and taxes have become a growing slice of government revenue as diamond earnings soften, and a mine running near design capacity supports jobs in Erongo region and demand for local contractors and logistics through Walvis Bay port.

What happens next

Paladin has said it expects the ramp-up to conclude by the end of FY2026, with full mining and processing rates carrying into FY2027. Investors will watch the March and June quarters for confirmation that output holds near the top of guidance, and for any read-through to the uranium spot price, which has swung between $84 and $101 a pound over the past year.

Sources

• Mining Weekly: Paladin lifts Langer Heinrich output as FY26 production tracks upper guidance, 21 Jan 2026

Photo: The Langer Heinrich inselberg in the Namib Desert, Namibia, near the uranium mine that takes its name. Olga Ernst & Hp.Baumeler, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.