Peninsula Energy has withdrawn its calendar-year 2026 production guidance for the Lance uranium project in Wyoming, citing a slower-than-expected ramp-up at the site. The company had previously targeted 400,000 to 500,000 pounds of U3O8 for the year; that figure is no longer in effect. Peninsula reaffirmed its 2027 production guidance of 500,000 to 600,000 pounds of U3O8, indicating the company still expects the operation to reach fuller output next year.

Lance restarted in 2024 as a low-pH, or acidic, in-situ recovery operation after a five-year suspension, marking the first commercial-scale use of that recovery method for uranium in the United States. Previous operators at Lance and other domestic in-situ recovery sites had relied on a high-pH process that delivered lower-than-expected uranium recoveries, prompting Peninsula's shift in method following several years of study and field trials.

The company said operational challenges have persisted longer than anticipated, including gas generation within sections of the wellfield that has slowed solution flow rates, along with ongoing adjustments to wellfield chemistry. Because there is limited domestic operating history with low-pH recovery, Peninsula said it has had to build technical knowledge and workforce experience largely from scratch. Despite the setbacks, the company described meaningful operational progress at the site and said it remains financially positioned to continue the ramp-up, pointing to cash on hand and a recently secured funding package.

The Lance project sits in the Powder River Basin, one of several U.S. regions where mining companies have restarted or expanded uranium production in recent years.

Source: World Nuclear News -- https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/wyoming-uranium-project-ramp-up-slower-than-anticipated