Paladin Energy Update | Paul Hemburrow and Jimmy Connor
Jimmy Connor Apr 5, 2026 14:56
Summary
Langer Heinrich is in the final phase of ramp-up, targeting ~91% recoveries and full year guidance of 4.4M lbs at $44-$48/lb.
Athabasca PLS adds about 93M lbs of reserves, a 10-year mine life, and three active drill rigs with further resource growth drilling planned.
Contract book covers 23M lbs through 2030 across 14 utilities spanning Europe, Asia, and North America; ~47% of contracts are base-escalated for downside protection.
Balance sheet: $278M cash plus a $70M undrawn debt facility, with capital mainly earmarked for PLS engineering and exploration.
No US listing planned; ~43% of the shareholder base sits in North America and just over 20% in Australia.
Jimmy Connor's takeaways
- Top takeaway The host frames the conversation as a broad investor update on Paladin Energy, steering the discussion through operations, contracts, balance sheet, permitting, and news flow.
Paul Hemburrow's takeaways
- Top takeaway Argues the company is at a 'really fantastic time in the uranium price cycle,' with Langer Heinrich's ramp-up expected to complete around mid-CY 2026.
- Frames last-quarter recovery of 91% (versus an 85–90% target) and rising ore availability as evidence the operation is now at the back end of its earlier ramp-up challenges.
- Defends the contract book — 23M pounds out to 2030 across roughly 14 utilities — as providing downside protection through base-escalated terms and upside exposure through market-related pricing.
- Justifies the late-2024 Fission acquisition as entry into the 'best postcode in the world' — the Athabasca Basin — citing PLS's ~93M lb reserves, infrastructure, and conventional mining approach.
- States the ASX and TSX listings provide adequate investor access, with no current plans for a US listing, while highlighting a comprehensive IR program across North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe.