Peninsula Energy has strengthened its technical leadership by appointing former Heathgate Resources chief operating officer Gary Birch as chief technical officer and establishing a new technical committee to support the ramp-up of its Lance uranium project in Wyoming, USA.
Birch brings more than 20 years of uranium experience from leadership roles at South Australia's Beverley and Four Mile operations with Heathgate, where he was also responsible for the design and implementation of the Four Mile West low-pH in situ recovery (ISR) uranium development.
He most recently served as Heathgate’s chief operating officer, overseeing operations, maintenance, engineering, information technology and projects. He will join Peninsula on September 28 and work alongside a newly formed technical committee chaired by non-executive director Keith Bowes.
The newly established committee has been set up to provide additional technical oversight across the Lance project, focusing on wellfield performance, mine planning, process optimisation and operational improvement initiatives.
Peninsula has also engaged specialist South Australian ISR consulting group Rendement to provide technical support and recommendations aimed at improving the company’s wellfield and processing performance.
Peninsula says the combined expertise of Birch, Bowes and Rendement will strengthen its operational execution as Lance continues its transition to a large-scale, low-pH ISR uranium operation.
Peninsula Energy managing director and chief executive officer George Bauk said: “The appointment of Gary as Chief Technical Officer and establishment of the Technical Committee represent important steps in strengthening Peninsula’s technical capability and governance as we continue the ramp-up of low-pH ISR operations at Lance.”
Management recently reaffirmed its confidence in Lance’s long-term operational outlook. Last month, the company withdrew its CY2026 production guidance, attributing the shortfall to short-term pumping and gas-generation issues rather than to any fundamental issue with the underlying resource.
The company has replaced its original 2026 guidance with a table outlining a potential production range of 150,000 to 290,000 pounds of uranium oxide, depending on achieved head grades and flow rates, as it works through remediation measures and operational improvements.
Management says the CY2027 production target of 500,000 to 600,000 pounds of uranium oxide remains unchanged and that operational experience gained during this year's ramp-up is already being incorporated into future mine development plans.
Recent results from Lance continue to support the effectiveness of Peninsula’s low-pH recovery process, with the company reporting uranium grades at Header House 14 of more than double the historical averages achieved under the previous alkaline leach mining method.
Peninsula says Lance remains one of the largest independent uranium development projects in the US, with a 58-million-pound uranium resource base and an established 2-million-pound-per-year processing plant.
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By Doug Bright
