Lotus Saves K25bn with Landmark Grid Connection Deal
Key Business Points
- Kayelekera Uranium Mine expects to save $12–$14 million yearly by connecting to the national grid this year
- First commercial uranium shipment targeted for Q2 2026 with cash flow expected to start flowing in Q3 2026
- Production ramp-up to steady state delayed in Q1 but recovery in progress; mining sector GDP contribution projected to rise to 12% by 2027
Lotus Resources Limited, which owns the Kayelekera Uranium Mine in Karonga, says it will save $14 million (K24.5 billion) annually on diesel costs once it connects the mine to the national electricity grid later this year. The move follows earlier warnings about high operating expenses caused by relying on onsite diesel generators and acid supply disruptions.
The mine resumed production in August last year after being restarted in September 2025. Costs have been inflated by the need to power the processing plant with diesel generators, which meet an estimated continuous demand of seven megawatts. However, the company expects connection to the grid by the fourth quarter to cut electricity expenses by between $12 million and $14 million each year.
Lotus remains confident of hitting its target for first uranium shipment in the second quarter of 2026, with cash from sales anticipated by the third quarter of this year. Logistics are in place, and the company has already obtained preliminary confirmation from a Western converter that its initial sample meets required specifications. Having multiple converters lined up will give flexibility in delivery and help safeguard future contracts.
Production ramp-up to a steady state of 200,000 pounds per month—initially planned for the first quarter—has slipped into the second quarter due to acid supply chain issues. Management says it is addressing those logistics and pursuing measures to reduce risks linked to other key reagents, expressing confidence the ramp-up can still be achieved on schedule.
According to geologist Ignatius Kamwanje, the progress at Kayelekera is a major boost to the economy. Grain Malunga, national coordinator at the Chamber of Mines and Energy, predicts the mining sector’s contribution to gross domestic product will climb to 12% by 2027 as Kayelekera and two other mines move to full production.
What are your thoughts on this business development? Share your insights and remember to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest Malawi business news and opportunities. Visit us daily for comprehensive coverage of Malawi’s business landscape.
- Lotus Saves K25bn with Landmark Grid Connection Deal - February 27, 2026
- A Thunderclap For Lazy Mermaid.[ It’s mostly here to take advantage of my mind’s own ability to create sensible sounding sentences in the gaps between the readable content, without paying attention to the fact that these “understandable” gaps don’t always make much sense. I think that’s part of the reason why the sentence generation is so hard — we should probably say “Generating a randomly selected, sensical English sentence” rather than “Creating a high fidelity generated random English sentence”In the same spirit, using random characters seems to make the output much more legible and has a similar effect to adding noise and jitter to random numbers.In fact, I am now considering introducing randomness into programs as a general way to create “artificial” grammatical forms and sentences. This even helps with “breadth” of comprehension of the meaning of things, which would otherwise depend entirely on the meaning of a particular sentence generator.Update 7th September 2015: I’m now using an algorithm similar to the one I originally provided in my first sentence in this post ] - February 27, 2026
- Govt unveils budget shifts to fuel investment growth - February 27, 2026