Atomic Eagle Retests Madaouela for a Larger Mine Than the 2022 Plan

Project Overview 

Atomic Eagle (ASX: AEU | OTCQX: AEUXF) has started a value optimization and technical review program at the Madaouela Uranium Project in Niger, in which it holds a 60% interest. The program tests whether Madaouela can support a larger and more valuable development than the one in the 2022 feasibility study (FS) undertaken by GoviEx, a study completed under a materially different uranium market.

Madaouela hosts a foreign estimate of 116.5 million pounds (Mlb) of uranium oxide at 1,282 parts per million (ppm), reported under NI 43-101 rather than the JORC Code.

The review covers the mine plan at updated prices, mining methods and scheduling, processing, production scale, and capital and operating costs, with a scoping study targeted as its first output once a JORC resource estimate is complete.

1. The 2022 Mine Plan Used US$55 per Pound for Uranium Oxide

The mine optimization behind the 2022 FS used a uranium price of US$55 per pound for uranium oxide, against a contract price of US$96.50 per pound for uranium oxide on August 31, 2026, the average of the UxC and TradeTech contract prices. Mine optimization draws the pit shells and underground stopes, the outlines of what is economic to mine, from a price assumption. The program will redraw those shells and stopes at updated uranium price assumptions, and the current price environment offers potential for more economically mineable ore. Management says the resource itself was estimated when the uranium price was $70 per pound for uranium oxide.

GoviEx prepared the 2022 FS in accordance with NI 43-101, and Atomic Eagle does not report, adopt, or endorse its estimates.

2. The Mine Plan Excluded 19.6 Mlb of Inferred Resources

Inferred resources of approximately 19.6 Mlb were excluded from the 2022 mine plan entirely, and Atomic Eagle intends to reassess mine planning and production scheduling to include all JORC-converted Inferred resources. 

The foreign estimate splits into 30.1 Mlb Measured at 1,000 ppm, 66.8 Mlb Indicated at 1,460 ppm, and 19.6 Mlb Inferred at 1,330 ppm. Measured and indicated together total 96.9 Mlb at 1,275 ppm. 

Chief Executive Officer of Atomic Eagle, Phil Hoskins, ties the excluded pounds to the reporting code of the earlier study:

"So that means that on a Canadian study where you can't use inferred resources, there's 20 million pounds that were not included in that previous feasibility study that can be included moving forward."

3. Open-Pit & Underground Scheduling Enter the Review

The mining review tests both how much of the deposit can be mined and the order in which it is mined.  The work covers alternative mining methods and equipment, mineralization omitted from the historical mine plan, and mine sequencing that integrates underground production with open-pit mining. Management says the nearby Orano-owned mines use a mix of open-pit and underground mining; Orano's Somair has more than 178 Mlb of historical production, and Cominak has 165 Mlb. In the room-and-pillar underground mining method, ore columns are left in place to support the roof. 

Hoskins identifies the part of the earlier design the company wants to recover: 

"The room and pillar underground mining method was leaving a reasonable proportion of uranium behind."

The review will also test ways to bring higher-value material forward in the production schedule. 

4. The Process Flowsheet Is Being Reviewed Against Current Practice

Atomic Eagle is reviewing the historical metallurgical testwork and the existing process flowsheet, the sequence of plant steps that turns ore into product, against contemporary uranium processing technologies, design practices, and operating experience. The review will evaluate modern processing solutions that may enhance uranium recoveries, improve plant operability, reduce capital intensity and operating costs, and simplify the overall process design. The work will produce updated process engineering inputs and recommendations to optimize Madaouela's development strategy. 

5. Throughput, Capital Staging & Power Are Open Variables

The program will evaluate a range of throughput and production scenarios to determine whether higher production rates could deliver greater project value.

Alongside production scale, the review covers operating costs, capital staging (building a project in phases), infrastructure requirements, and power and logistics strategies. A power line and the Uranium Highway pass near Madaouela.

6. The Review Updates a US$160 Million Technical Base

The program builds on approximately US$160 million of historical project expenditure, including extensive drilling, engineering, and study work, with the FS completed in November 2022. 

That record includes about 600,000 meters of drilling. For the study and permitting commitments, Hoskins leans on that data:

"There is a substantial database of technical information that we're able to leverage off. So it is really just an update. So not as expensive as if we were going through this for the first time."

7. Any Revised Mine Plan Depends on the JORC Conversion

Atomic Eagle has undertaken no optimization or estimation work at current prices to date, and any revised mine plan will be based on a mineral resource estimate reported in accordance with the JORC Code. 

A competent person has not done sufficient work to classify the foreign estimate as a JORC mineral resource, and it is uncertain whether further evaluation or exploration will allow it to be reported that way. There is no certainty that the optimization work will increase the mining inventory or the mineral resource.

8. JORC Estimate & Scoping Study Set the 2026 to 2027 Timeline 

The converted JORC estimate comes first, with release targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. A scoping study, an early-stage economic study, is planned for the first quarter of 2027, subject to completion of that estimate, with updated economic outcomes and a roadmap for future feasibility work. 

In parallel, Atomic Eagle will continue to assess development, financing, and commercial scenarios internally and maintain flexibility across future development, funding, strategic partnerships, and other value-realization pathways. The permitting pathway is re-established through a new mining convention and a new exploitation permit granted to the company's 60%-owned subsidiary. Management says the company has a 2-year window to update the earlier studies, reapply for the environmental approvals previously held, and secure financing.

Key Takeaways for Investors

• The 2022 Madaouela mine plan was optimized at US$55 per pound for uranium oxide, against a contract price of US$96.50 per pound for uranium oxide on August 31, 2026.
• Inferred resources of approximately 19.6 million pounds were excluded from the 2022 mine plan, and Atomic Eagle intends to include them once converted under JORC. 
• The review tests alternative mining methods and equipment, and integrated open-pit and underground scheduling. 
• Any revised mine plan will be based on a mineral resource estimate reported under the JORC Code, and no optimization work at current prices has been done yet.
• A scoping study with updated economic outcomes is planned for the first quarter of 2027, following the JORC estimate targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. 

Bottom Line 

Atomic Eagle has started retesting a Madaouela mine plan that was drawn at US$55 per pound for uranium oxide and left out 19.6 Mlb of Inferred resources entirely, against a contract price of US$96.50 per pound for uranium oxide as of August 31, 2026. The review goes beyond price to cover mining methods, scheduling, processing, throughput, and costs, and it builds on about US$160 million in historical spending. No optimization work at current prices has been done yet, and any revised plan will use a JORC estimate targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. The scoping study planned for the first quarter of 2027 is the first opportunity to publish updated economics for Madaouela.